University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Public Access Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research from the College of Education and Human Sciences, College of Education and Human Sciences (CEHS) 2020 Ecological Art Exhibition as Transformative Pedagogy Stacey Skold University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss Part of the Fashion Design Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Museum Studies Commons, Other Education Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Skold, Stacey, "Ecological Art Exhibition as Transformative Pedagogy" (2020). Public Access Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research from the College of Education and Human Sciences. 363. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/363 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Education and Human Sciences, College of (CEHS) at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Public Access Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research from the College of Education and Human Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. ECOLOGICAL ART EXHIBITION AS TRANSFORMATIVE PEDAGOGY by Stacey Skold A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: Human Sciences (Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design) Under the Supervision of Professors Mary Alice Casto and Barbara Trout Lincoln, Nebraska August, 2020 ECOLOGICAL ART EXHIBITION AS TRANSFORMATIVE PEDAGOGY Stacey Skold, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2020 Advisor: Mary Alice Casto Environmental degradation is considered one of the biggest issues facing humankind. The problem is deep and global With fast fashion playing a significant, yet underrealized role. Scholars have established that developing the sustainable behaviors necessary to mitigate the effects of environmental degradation is a complex process, that knowledge of environmental degradation alone is insufficient to develop sustainable behaviors, and that both attitudinal and behavioral transformations are necessary for global environmental action and steWardship. As a result, researchers have called for neW approaches to environmental education to promote transformative learning. Art experiences can function as a powerful tool in learning and transformation, but art exhibition experiences are underutilized in environmental education. This quasi- experimental study Was designed to determine whether an ecological art exhibition, Canary Concepts and the Hidden Danger of Ubiquitous Things, could be associated With internal factors related to sustainable behaviors in fast fashion consumption—specifically an environmental attitude consisting of knowledge, values, and intended sustainable behaviors. This repeated measures study compared pre-exhibition and post-exhibition knowledge, values, and intended sustainable behaviors test scores of 163 University of Nebraska-Lincoln student participants. They consisted of 148 females and 15 males ranging betWeen 18 and 34 years-of-age. TWo-tailed t-tests were used to determine Whether there was a statistically significant increase in knowledge, values, and intended sustainable behaviors associated with the exhibition-intervention. Results indicated a statistically significant increase in knowledge, values, and intended sustainable behaviors supporting the primary hypothesis that an ecological art exhibition experience can be an effective educational intervention and transformative experience. Results also demonstrated the importance of the holistic nature of the exhibition experience, as the majority of participants attributed changes in knowledge, values, and intended sustainable behaviors to the exhibition-as-a whole rather than individual labels or installations. Relationships betWeen participants’ characteristics and changes in knowledge, values, and intended sustainable behaviors Were also explored. Keywords: environmental attitude, ecological art exhibition, environmental education, environmental degradation, sustainable education, fast fashion, textile industry, environmental attitude, environmental knowledge, values, transformative learning theory, fashion footprint, chemical pollution, plastic pollution iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my family. I am especially grateful for the patience and support of my husband, Mark; my daughters, Halsten and HathaWay; my parents, John and Virginia; and my brother, Jason. It is also dedicated to finding tools to live in the After…to keep our boat afloat (to paraphrase Mary Pipher, 2013) and to sail on in a world with safer chemicals, better legislation, and a whole lot more trust. v Acknowledgements This dissertation and the Canary Concepts and the Hidden Danger of Ubiquitous Things exhibition could not have taken place without the involvement of many others. I appreciate the commitment, professionalism, and knowledge of my committee at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I am indebted to: Dr. Casto, for her insight, excitement, and the confidence she instilled; Dr. Trout, for her support early in my courseWork as my topic evolved; Dr. Torquati, for her guidance developing the surveys and her attention to detail; Dr. Starkey, for her commitment to this project and her attention to readability; and Dr. Shope, for his expertise in research methods. In addition, the following people and organizations played an important role in the writing process: The Nebraska Evaluation and Research (NEAR) Center; Cindy DeRyke, Katherine Pierson, and Barb Sanford (editors); and Stacy Asher, Associate Professor of Art, Who collaborated on the graphic design. vi The Canary Concepts and the Hidden Danger of Ubiquitous Things exhibition Was the heart of this study. I appreciate those who played a special role in making it a reality: The Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design Department faculty and staff, including Assistant Professor Michael Burton, Ardis James Professorship Studio Assistant Leah Sorensen-Hayes, and Kylin Flothe; The students who participated in the study; Goodwill Industries of Nebraska; My immediate and extended family who “showed up” for both installing and deinstalling the exhibition; and Chris Jordan, for lending his transformative movie trailer, Midway: Message from the Gyre—the anchor for the exhibition and the “key for the lock.” vii Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................ ix List of Tables ............................................................................................................. xii List of Appendices ..................................................................................................... xiv Abbreviation Key ...................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1—Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Background of Study ........................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................ 2 Research Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses ............................................... 3 Primary .......................................................................................................... 3 The Primary Research Question .............................................................. 3 The Primary Research Objective ............................................................. 3 Primary Hypotheses ................................................................................. 3 Secondary ...................................................................................................... 4 Secondary Research Question ................................................................. 4 Secondary Objective ................................................................................ 4 Secondary Hypotheses ............................................................................. 4 Chapter 2—Research and Literature RevieW: Fast Fashion (FF) and Environmental Degradation (ED) .................................................................. 5 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 5 Fast Fashion (FF) Development .......................................................................... 5 Fast Fashion (FF) in the Consumption and Aesthetic Ages .......................... 9 Slow and Circular Fashion ............................................................................ 12 Fast Fashion (FF) System and Its Footprint ................................................. 16 viii Pre-consumption Stage: Extraction, Production, and Distribution ............... 17 Fiber Types: Natural and Manufactured .................................................. 18 Textile Dyeing and Finishing .................................................................. 21 Consumption Stage: Use and Maintenance .................................................. 23 Post-consumption Stage ................................................................................ 24 Fast Fashion (FF) Footprint—Chemical and Plastic Pollution ..................... 25 Environmental