Methods for the Research of Arts Education Practices in Schools

Tom Ollieuz
EXPERTISE NETWORK FOR TEACHER EDUCATORS, GHENT UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATION, BELGIUM
ARTEVELDE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, BELGIUM
QUEST CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND SOCIAL SERVICE, BELGIUM


Within research on arts education practices in schools, the perspectives of the practitioner
and the researcher meet. Jon Wagner (1997) describes the cooperation between
researchers and practitioners as a social intervention with sometimes problematic
consequences like distinctive dramas, the perception of immediate threat from the
researchers perspective and feelings of resistance on the practitioners side. This paper
focuses on a situational map of both perspectives, allowing understanding and positioning
of key elements and how they are related. The main goal is dual: to allow others to
understand, question and possibly even build on the theoretical understanding produced,
and to let researchers and their stakeholders benefit from these conceptualisations in a
usable and practical way. This paper builds on analytical generalisation of
methodological data from several research projects. These data are obtained both
empirical and from literature. To describe research and practice perspectives, the
Artatouille research project is used as a case. This was a Flemish one-year project on the
gap between the beliefs and attitudes of teachers towards arts (and cultural) education on
one hand, and their ways of setting up learning situations in these fields on the other.

Perspectives

In educational design research, stakeholders play an important role and are commonly
represented (McKenney & Reeves, 2012). The typical group of stakeholders doesnt fully
overlap the target group. Stakeholders can be anyone with an interest in the project, from
parents to publishers, from teacher training curriculum builders to pedagogical workers.
The target group is the population group in the focus of the research. In Artatouille, the
target group was the teachers.

In the presented situational map model, the perspectives of the researchers and the
teachers are visually shown as opposites. This requires some elucidation. Researchers and
teachers are both highly qualified and in most cases experienced in the field of the
research problem at hand. They both have a broad view, which can be called a 360-
degree panoramic view on the subject. In a number of related topics, researchers and
teachers share the same views, opinions, and beliefs. These communalities are a premise
for conducting educational design research. The presented model zooms in on the actual
meeting of both viewpoints, where they look at each other. This field, which McKenney
and Reeves (2012) call common ground, is only a limited area of their 360-degree
views. It is the terrain where expectations emerge.



Figure 1: Situational map explaining relations between the research perspective and the practice
perspective in educational design research on the practice of arts education in schools.
(Conjecture model)

Teaching practice

In Artatouille, the practice of arts education was researched in schools from 3 educational
levels: pre-school (2,5-5 year olds), primary school (6-12yo) and secondary school (12-
18yo). Practice was defined as the regular interaction between teacher(s) and pupil(s).
In Flanders, arts are taught as an objective or as a means to achieve other objectives (De
Commissie Onderwijs en Cultuur, 2008). It also includes cultural education, heritage
education and media education (Bamford, 2007). Only the teachers, depending on their
personal views and opinions on arts education, selected the learning situations they
considered suitable for the Artatouille research project. This way they could illustrate
what exactly they considered arts and cultural education.
The outcome of this research, which can be seen as an in-depth context analysis, revealed
that the involved teachers see art and aesthetics as a method to expand the their pupils
view on the world. According to the teachers, arts and cultural education are about
fundamental issues: Who am I as a person? How can I look at the world? How do I
relate myself to the other? They are linked to aesthetics and creativity, perceived as
learn to think about, watch and apply in other situations. This helps young people
to orient themselves in society and to be able to participate independently in the long run.
Arts and cultural education offer opportunities to let the pupils excel and transcend,
beyond the functional. Art is linked primarily to doing, but without specific
criteria. Little use is being made of its unique ability "to look at the world through art.
This part of the results of the small scale Artatouille project sketches the practice of arts
education in Flanders.


Figure 2: Educational objectives from the teachers in the Artatouille project, sorted by level of
transfer using Haskells (2001) taxonomy.

Needs

At first glance, these statements might look obvious. However, they reveal a deeper and
underlying cause of the problems described by Anne Bamford (2007) in Kwaliteit en
consistentie. Arts and cultural education in Flanders, an extensive research
commissioned by the government. The goals set out by the teachers for arts education are
aligned with their view on arts education as an education on fundamental issues. They
range from growing as a person to expanding ones view and even becoming more
human. As noble as these goals for the pupils may be, they are almost impossible to
evaluate as educational objectives. This underpins the conclusion of Bamford (2007):
Strategies for assessment and evaluation are very limited within arts and cultural
education and this area needs further research and development. Her report also revealed
the perception of student teachers: they lack skills and experiences in the high arts.
While they appear to be receptive to the arts, the small amount of time dedicated to
developing their talents in the primary teacher education programme is insufficient to
actually equip them to be able to teach the arts. (Bamford, 2007) The in-service teachers
involved in Artatouille also perceived themselves as lacking skills and knowledge to
teach arts and culture. In several cases, this made the teachers feel vulnerable, and gave
rise to questions like What will my collegues think of me? Ultimately, this position
also affected communication with their collegues.
The needs of the teachers in the Artatouille project came down to time to learn and
improve skills. Long term coaching trajectories and opportunities were recommended, in
the results of both Artatouille as the grand scale research project commissioned by the
government. A specific concern for coaching could be, among other subjects, setting out
feasible objectives that can be evaluated. Further research can focus on design of
evaluation tools to facilitate this.




0 20 40 60 80 100
0 N/A
1 Nonspecific transfer
2 Application transfer
3 Context transfer
4 Near transfer
5 Far transfer
6 Displacement or creative transfer
Arts and/or Culture Related Objectives
Level of Transfer
Practical situation

The practical situation includes all practical preconditions which determine to what
extent the teacher can embark on a co-learning engagement with the researchers. It
concerns possibilities to generate opportunities, for example the ease by which a
colleague can take care of the pupils. This will determine if a teacher can participate in a
training session, research meeting, reflective or narrative interview,... taking place outside
of the practice. An example can be found in one situation in Artatouille where the
teachers class and the researchers meeting room were only 500 meters away from each
other. This distance was too far for the teacher because she couldnt leave the pupils. She
never left school for this project, which meant the researchers always came to the
classroom. When being asked straight for their needs in the Artatouille interviews,
teachers were eager to ask for money to improve their practical situation. Often, needed
materials were mentioned (including technology), or needed space, or support from
external experts.
Another example of a factor that could determine the practical situation is the legal
opportunity or limitation to contract an external arts expert for a trajectory in a class.
It is of great value to arts education to have an artist in the classroom, but the
administrative side of this operation can stimulate or kill this initiative. Examples can be
found in the report of Bamford (2007).
Within Artatouille, sometimes teachers were not aware of existing solutions to practical
problems. An example is the free public transport formula for cultural activities in
Flanders, called Dynamo Op Weg, solving budgetary concerns regarding excursions.

Engagement

The teacher or practitioner should not only be able to reflect, research and design from
outside the practice. Also, he or she needs the space to reflect, research and try out from
inside the practice. In other words, the teacher needs the possibility to try out tools and
interventions with the pupils. The freedom of imperfection is a precondition for an
iterative design process including prototype testing and evaluation. The materials or
interventions will not be thoroughly tested, not evidence-based, not refined to perfection
when the teacher applies them in his or her practice in the course of the research project.
The teacher becomes a co-researcher who learns to work inquiry-based (Van Houte, H.,
Devlieger, K., Schaffler, J., Remerie, T., & Vanderlinde, R., 2013). Creating such a test
lab within the context of his or her own professional responsibilities, and with
immediate uncertain consequences for the pupils, requires a clear engagement. This -
sometimes stout - engagement requires appropriate or even adjusted communication
between the teacher and the pupils, their parents, the headmaster and/or board, the
colleagues and of course the researcher(s).

Involvement

Even if the engagement is clear and communicated, the teacher is not necessary involved
in the project. If the researcher wants the eventual design to truly happen together, in an
interaction between the researcher and his or her target group, they both need to get
involved in the process. The ball is now in the court of the researcher(s), who conduct(s)
the design process. The researcher should take the initiative towards the teacher in order
to activate him or her in the research process. This can take many forms and many
methods can be used, depending on the phase of the research project and other factors. It
can be initiated through an invitation for a focus group meeting, a rather informal phone
call underpinning the common direction, a doodle for a meeting or an interview, an
inspiring training day, a visit to the classroom. If the teacher doesnt see how he or she
can benefit intellectually from the project, he or she will never get involved. When the
teacher is the guest of the researcher, proper hospitality should be explicitly shown.
Projects like Artatouille have indicated that getting teachers involved is not a step in the
research process, but rather a continuous effort.

Research perspective: Developing together

The Expertise Network For Teacher Educators, Ghent University Association, Belgium,
made Artatouille possible: a joint research project of Artevelde University College, Ghent
University and University College, Ghent. Within Artevelde University College,
the Quest Centre for Research and Social Service conducted several projects following
the methodology of educational design research. This resulted in published usable
didactical materials, originating in the work of teachers, student teachers, researchers,
experts and other stakeholders. These materials covered, among other fields, inquiry
education, technology education and creativity education. Also publications on the
methodology were issued, like the contribution to a body of illustrative cases for the
SLO, Netherlands institute for curriculum development (Van Houte, H., Devlieger, K.,
Schaffler, J., Remerie, T., & Vanderlinde, R., 2013). This is the context of the Artatouille
research team and its perspective.
Educational design research is by definition conducted in collaboration with practice.
Teachers become research partners. Researchers learn from practitioners and vice versa.
A project starts with the identification and exploration of the problem together with the
problem owners (Ejersbo, L., Engelhardt, R., Frlunde, L., Hanghj, T., Magnussen, R.,
& Misfeldt, M., 2008). What follows, is the typical three-stage process illustrated in
figure 3.

Figure 3: Process display of a design study. Source: McKenney and van den Akker, 2005

Tools

Depending on the research problem at hand, strategies are followed to analyse the context
and to design a prototypical solution. The design of this answer to the problem is a
collaborative act by the teacher and the practitioner. Other stakeholders and target groups
may be involved. The process of designing is a co-learning process. When the designed
prototype is tested, an intervention takes place in the practice. This is a research activity
that can have many forms. Whether the intervention is an educational product or process,
or a program or a policy, it can always be named a tool for practice. This tool or set of
tools - can be tested and evaluated. McKenney & Reeves (2012) point out that the
intervention itself, as well as the effect of it, can be the subject of research. They mention
research on the intervention as well as research through the intervention. This is not a
strict division though; the borders between both orientations are often blurry.

Professionalization

Professionalization, or professional development, can cover the professional growth of
teacher expertise. In a broader sense, it encompasses any amelioration of competence in
the educational setting. It also can be an improvement in the way communication occurs
between or with teachers, teamleaders, pupils, parents, organisations,
The roles of the researcher and the in-service teacher trainer are closely related, although
distinctively different by nature. The researcher is looking for changeable factors related
to the research problem at hand (McKenney & Reeves, 2012). The change that is sought
eventually benefits the educational setting and is therefore part of a professionalization
process. Educational design research is attempting to generate what Lagemann (2002)
calls usable knowledge. This also points toward a professional development. This
genre of research is not exclusively connected with professionalization, though. Action
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research for example is known to strive for a higher quality of action (Schostak, 2006).
Other research genres like narrative research often stimulate professional reflection,
which could also be seen as a step in a process of professional development.
Educational design research has a concern with the quality, relevance and significance
of contents and methods of practice, structures and communication within educational
settings.

Figure 4: In-service training and research both seen as interventionist processes, targeting issues
in practice with their own methodology.

References

Bamford, A . (2007) Kwaliteit en consistentie. Arts and cultural education in Flanders. Brussels:
Agency for Educational Communication.
De commissie Onderwijs en Cultuur (2008). Gedeeld/Verbeeld. Eindrapport van de commissie
Onderwijs en Cultuur. Brussels: Agency for Educational Communication.
Ejersbo, L., Engelhardt, R., Frlunde, L., Hanghj, T., Magnussen, R., & Misfeldt, M. (2008).
Balancing product design and theorethical insight. In A. E. Kelly, R. A. Lesh & J. Y. Baek (Eds.),
The handbook of design research methods in education (pp. 149-163). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Haskell, E. H. (2001). Transfer of learning: Cognition, instruction, and reasoning. New York:
Academic Press.
Lagemann, E. C. (2002). An elusive science: The troubling history of education research.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press
McKenney, S. and Reeves, T. C. (2012). Conducting educational design research. London and
New York: Routledge.
McKenney, S. and van den Akker, J. (2005) Computer-based support for curriculum designers: A
case of developmental research. Educational Technology Research & Development, 53(2), 41-66
Schostak, J. (2006). Interviewing and Representation in Qualitative Research. Maidenhead: Open
University Press.
Van Houte, H., Devlieger, K., Schaffler, J., Remerie, T., & Vanderlinde, R. (2013). Design
research focusing on the roles of multiple stakeholders in the development of a professional
development program me for early childhood teachers. In T. Plomp & N. Nieveen (Eds.),
Educational design research, part B : illustrative cases (pp. 7137323). Enschede, The
Netherlands: SLO (Netherlands institute for curriculum development).
Wagner, J. (1997) The Unavoidable Intervention of Educational Research: A Framework for
Reconsidering Researcher-Practitioner Cooperation. Educational Researcher 26(7) (pp. 13-22).