Exploring students’ experiences of arts-based pedagogy: An a/r/tographical journey

Abstract

My research seeks to understand the experience of students who were labeled with learning disabilities and/or behavioural issues and subsequently transferred to an arts-based school. Specifically, I focused on students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy, their willingness to take academic risks and their aspirations for their future. The methods employed to collect the students’ stories were one-on-one, semi-structured interviews and an arts-based focus group. My methodology is arts-based. I practice métissage as a/r/tography by weaving together life writing, visual and textual metaphor, and theory and research. The findings of this research suggested that in the arts-based context 1) students feel confidence, hope and aspiration; 2) the students’ current arts-based school is a supportive community; and 3) students feel recognition and appreciation of their strengths and efforts. I situate my discussion primarily in the work of Maxine Greene while also drawing on central tenets of constructivism and critical theory.