How might the arts help to unveil and integrate realities so as to facilitate shared meanings and understandings between peoples and thus generate the conditions for the participatory, creative cultural diversity which may contribute to the construction of more democratic societies? Taking contemporary Chile as its case study, this research delves into the potential of the arts to mirror and integrate fragmented sectors in a society’s drive towards human development. To this end, it uses an interdisciplinary methodology comprising complementary empirical and theoretical approaches so as to investigate the arts as transcultural formative experiences. The former entails a comparative analysis of two groups of Chilean artists (one group in exile in Britain, the other resident in Chile) through data obtained primarily via in-depth interviews. The theoretical approach contextualises and universally grounds these social actors’ discourses in order to identify commonalities which may bind both groups together. The thesis addresses the question of how these artists make art to construct, mediate and sustain meanings, senses of belongings and humanising spaces for transformative learning, exchange and integration in society, giving valuable insights into subjective as well as collective processes of identity construction in the era of globalisation. The findings take the shape of a written text following the logic of the categories emerging from the artists’ narratives, together with a series of video projects - an emergent outcome of the research. This research is situated at the junctures of critical, cultural and educational theory. It is of interest to cultural policymakers as well as scholars of contemporary art theory, social history, political philosophy, Latin Americanism, exilic narratives and the poetics of the audiovisual.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of singing-integrated reading instruction on the oral reading fluency and motivation of elementary students in an after school program. Participants were third graders (n = 29) who attended the singing-integrated oral reading fluency (SI ORF) intervention twice a week for eight weeks. Components of the intervention included teacher-modeling of fluent oral reading, oral support, repeated reading and singing activities from a variety of children’s literature, and individual free-time. The adapted Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS; McKenna & Kear, 1990) measured recreational, academic, and composite reading attitudes. The Qualitative Reading Inventory – 5 (QRI-5; Leslie & Caldwell, 2011) measured the following fluency components: Word Recognition in Isolation (WRI), both Correct Automatic and Total Number Correct, Word Recognition in Context (WRC), and reading rate, calculated as Words per Minute (WPM). Pretests and posttests for components of both assessments were compared using paired-samples t – tests. Data analyses of adapted ERAS mean percentage scores revealed a statistically significant decline in recreational reading attitude, no statistically significant difference in academic reading attitude, and a decline that approached significance in participants’ overall reading attitudes. QRI-5 scores revealed a statistically significant increase from pretest to posttest in WRI Correct Automatic, WRI Total Number Correct, WRC, and reading rate scores. The after-school environment offered a viable option for SI ORF instruction and was free from restraints that can accompany high-stakes testing environments in the traditional school setting. Overall, participants were attentive and enthusiastic, particularly enjoying the singing and repeated lyrics components of the intervention.

This study investigated the role of both arts-integrated instruction (art activities as part of math instruction) and teacher immediacy (teacher caring behaviors) levels on students' math achievement. Although students from low socio-economic culturally diverse school districts have shown improvement in academic test scores, their scores are still significantly lower than scores of students from other school districts. Research has shown that when there is an increase in teacher immediacy, students' academic success increases. Despite this known correlation, there is a lack of literature on the ways that arts integration, combined with teacher immediacy, can affect academic success. Constructivist theories, experiential learning building upon what the student knows and hands on activities, were the framework for this study. The sample population for this quantitative study was high school students from a low-socioeconomic, culturally diverse school district. Data from a student survey (n=119) were entered into a hierarchical multiple regression analysis to determine whether measures of teacher immediacy and arts integration predicted students' New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge standardized math scores. The results did not allow for rejection of the null hypotheses, contradicting past research for both the arts and teacher immediacy on academic success. Due to the limitations of this study, further research is needed to determine the relationship between arts-integrated lessons and teacher immediacy on students' success in culturally diverse low-socioeconomic school districts with low academic achievement.

Drawing on portraiture methods, this case study is an exploration of the experiences of pre-service teachers who participated in a music-integrated literacy methods course during their first semester in an elementary teacher preparation program. The study is a response to previous researchers’ findings that arts-integrated university courses hold the most impact on the teaching practices of pre-service teachers when included early in their preparation programs and that pre-service teachers are more hesitant about music integration than the integration of other art forms. Data collected over the course of one semester included course assignments, reflective journals, a survey designed to measure teacher attitudes toward the use of the arts in teaching, observations of teaching practices in the field, audio-recorded debriefing sessions after each teaching observation, and audio-recorded semi-structured interviews. Six participants were observed in their field placements and six participants were interviewed; two participants were included in both the observation and interview groups. Data analysis included the use of In Vivo and axial coding as well as Impressionistic Records. Four major themes regarding pre-service teachers’ experiences in a music-integrated literacy methods course were identified: (a) pre-service teachers’ thinking as learners in a music-integrated literacy methods course doesn’t transfer to their teaching practices, (b) previous training in music impacts how pre-service teachers envision their future arts-integrated teaching, (c) pre-service teachers’ actual practice doesn’t mirror their envisioned practice, and (d) pre-service teachers desire more supportive field experiences that allow freedom to integrate the arts and place less emphasis on testing mandates. Further, pre-service teachers who have experienced a music-integrated literacy methods course see music as an effective tool for teaching literacy concepts to their students. This study provides an in-depth understanding of pre-service teachers’ experiences in a music-integrated literacy methods course and highlights their voices as heard in the data.

abstract: Drawing on a wide variety of literature from social constructionism, communities of practice and knowledge management this study brings to light the kind of support teachers will need in order to be able to use a knowledge construction model to develop a continual learning process for arts integration. Arts integration is a highly effective instructional strategy that brings active engagement, problem solving and higher levels of cognition to students. However arts integration is not easy work. It takes a great deal of planning and collaboration. In this action research study, I take the perspective of a social artist, a facilitator, who offers a framework for a group of teacher participants to dialogue, collaborate and share ideas and skills to develop arts integrated products to share with others. Utilizing a mixed methodology approach, the findings of this action research study revealed that the intervention had a positive impact on the participants. Though there were some set backs, participants reported more dialogue and shared experiences about arts integration on a daily basis, more dialogue about new arts integrate ideas, and an increased sense of collaboration in developing arts integrated products. Furthermore, the Knowledge Construction Model (KCM) concept had strength as a potential professional development model for teachers and schools interested in growing their arts integration practices. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011

Many countries across the globe are undergoing rapid economic and social change; and there are increasing efforts to reform, revamp and revitalise education – to equip students for the ever-changing future. Education is considered to be transformative; but the area of transformative learning has been mainly theorised in the field of adult education. Comparatively, teaching approaches designed to bring about such transformation or transformative teaching has been less explored or understood. Connecting various related literature, this study places deeper learning at the centre of transformation through learning. Aiming to fill a gap within the literature, this study explores transformation through learning in a comprehensive school setting at a K-5 School in the North East of the United States by asking the following questions, ‘What are the teachers’ and students’ lived experiences of transformation through music and arts infused creative learning as practiced at an Elementary School in Northeast of USA?’ and ‘What is the role of the arts and music in this process?’. Located within the interpretive paradigm, this ethnographic case study included 7 – 14-year-old students (Grade 2 – Grade 5) and staff, aimed at investigating the phenomenon of ‘transformation through learning’ through a range of sources within its natural environment. Various data collection methods were used, including semi-structured interviews, observations (field notes, video-recordings, still images), conceptual drawing and learning walks. These provided rich, in-depth data, permitting triangulation which strengthened the findings and allowed for an illuminating understanding of the topic. An iteratively developed framework representing elements or behaviours relating to transformation was utilised as a lens to identify relevant critical incidents during the data collection process. Employing thematic analysis on the data collected resulted in eight themes that represent the lived experiences of transformation through learning. These thematic findings highlight that relevance, mindsets and placing arts at centre of the school culture are key to providing transformative learning experiences. The study connects two arguments, that fostering deeper learning enables students to meet new expectations and demands of the changing future; and that it is vital to provide students with a well-rounded curriculum with rich arts education to prepare them for success in the future. Thus, the findings of this study develop the understanding of ‘transformation through learning’ and offer a model framework from the practice at this research site from which others could create their own.

John Dewey is known as the father of American experiential education. His views on building understanding in children through experiences in a correlated curriculum continue to influence educational practice to this day. His writings and experiments with experiential education also influenced music and arts education, most recently through the formation and implementation of arts integration programs. Several well-known arts integration program leaders cite Dewey as a foundational figure in the existence of their initiatives. While influenced by Dewey, programs such as the Kennedy Center Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) and the Chicago Arts Partnership in Education (CAPE) also are directly connected to the modern testing movement, and often gauge program success through reporting on a comparative analysis of standardized test scores. Current teacher evaluation models also measure student growth, along with teacher effectiveness, through the use of student test scores. Several arts education figures make an argument against measuring success in the arts through the use of test scores, stating that the true impact of study in the arts cannot be measured in this way. This study piloted a model of measuring growth in arts integration classrooms through the use of the Tennessee Fine Arts Student Growth Measures (TFASGM) system, a portfolio-based teacher evaluation and student growth measurement model. Teachers worked in control and treatment groups to implement the TFASGM in general education classrooms. Along with using the model, a teacher treatment group received targeted arts integration training, and through the model’s results, the impact of the training through teacher effect scores was also measured. Results showed teachers receiving arts integration training produced more significant student growth, and had a greater effect on student performance. Higher levels of arts integration that are more closely aligned with Dewey’s experiential education philosophy, such as process-based learning and the exploration of concepts common to arts and non-arts subjects, were also observed. More study, including a wider-scale implementation of the TFASGM in arts integration classrooms, is needed to make more substantial conclusions. However, this study demonstrates the viability of a growth-based arts teacher evaluation model in arts integration classrooms, and a new way of reporting on the success of arts integration programs that is in line with Dewey’s experiential, growth-based philosophy.

African American and Latino students attending Title I schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area were not reading on grade level. The majority of students are low performing readers and minimally met the reading comprehension requirements. The 2015 average 8th grade reading score for these students was 246 out of 500. This applied dissertation was designed to add to existing literature on the benefits of arts integration. Specifically, this study looked at whether the Alliance Theatre’s Collision Plus Program, an arts integration strategy, improved reading comprehension skills. Moreover, from the perception of the English language arts teacher, this study examined to what extent arts-integrated techniques prepare students for college or a career. Using a quasi-experimental mixed methods design, pre- and posttest results of the Scantron Performance Series computer adaptive assessment (CAAS) assessment were analyzed for an ELA control group and treatment group to determine if arts integrated instruction impacted the reading comprehension of the middle school students who participated in the study. Findings indicated that the mean and median scores for the treatment group of students were not statistically different than that of the control group of students after the Alliance Theatre Collision Plus Program lessons. From the perception of the ELA teacher, arts integration helped learners to comprehend what they are reading because they are able to connect to the text. Students showed greater inquisitiveness and the ability to change and produce new ideas. Recommendations for future research include utilizing a larger sample size and providing ongoing professional development to teachers on arts integration strategies.

Through observations, life history research, and qualitative data analysis, this study seeks to answer the question: Who and what influences elementary school teachers to ultimately use or not use art in their current classroom practice? This study examines the personal histories of nine elementary school general education teachers in the United States and Japan. Through reflections upon life history, pre and post teacher education this study investigates what influences the use of the arts in teaching practice and what influences the recognition of the arts as a vehicle for learning in a cross cultural context. In order to have a deeper understanding of this this study investigated what ultimately contributed to the shaping of trajectory and developing these beliefs which influence self-efficacy in the arts before entering into a teacher education program. It is with this self- efficacy already in place that teacher education programs make a mark on pre-service teachers' beliefs about arts integration, which ultimately leads to a new teacher's decision whether or not to practice using an arts integrative approach to teaching. This is a Cross-Cultural Comparative Ethnography. Using phenomenological based interviews and observations. The data was analyzed through a recursive analytic process which included both a deductive and an inductive approach. The study found four central concepts which reoccurred across the data sets. They are influences, self- efficacy, teacher education, and agency. The findings make explicit the similarities and differences across two cultures of how teacher's education, teacher's practice, and student learning are all influenced by the recognition of the arts within academic content areas.

The purpose of this thesis is to provide insight on how arts integration in English language arts education increases engagement and achievement in students and teachers alike. Throughout my analysis of literature, local field research in two Central Florida public elementary schools, and my creation of a five-day arts-integrated writing unit, I found that arts integration, especially when utilizing Leonard Bernstein’s Artful Learning Method was observed to show a positive impact on students. Arts integration allowed for a child’s natural curiosity and instinct to create to take over, which created authentic learning experiences for the students. The research also demonstrated that arts integration enabled teachers to utilize their creativity, which in turn positively changed their perspectives on their career and teaching experience. Observations and the research literature examined in this thesis showed that arts integration can be a valuable outlet for both students and teachers, yet not always utilized due to high stakes testing, budgetary concerns, and time constraints in the elementary classroom.