Vi är just nu i en tid av polarisering i det politiska klimatet där fler ämnen och frågor får kontroversiell laddning. Eftersom skolan är en plats där unga ska få möjlighet att utveckla demokratiska kunskaper och förmågor som i förlängningen ska fungera som en motståndskraft mot riskfyllda och odemokratiska beteenden måste ett aktivt arbete med demokratiuppdraget ske. Men Skolinspektionens senaste rapport visar att 21 av 30 grundskolor i landet brister i arbetet med demokratiuppdraget.1 Denna studie avser att undersöka hur bildämnet, genom arbete med kontroversiella ämnen, kan utveckla demokratiska förmågor och färdigheter. Som utgångspunkt i studien undersöks elevers och unga vuxnas upplevelser, erfarenheter och tankar kring skapandets demokratiska potential och arbetet med kontroversiella ämnen i bildämnet. Jag har analyserat deras svar utifrån diskursanalys som tolkningsram samt teorier kring vilka subjektspositioner vi tar i mötet med andra och oliktänkande. Resultaten visar att begreppet “kontroversiellt” är komplext och kontextuellt och något som elever drar sig för att prata om och arbeta med. Detta tycks bero på bristande förmågor att hantera oliktänkande och ingå i demokratiska samtal, främst av en rädsla över vad andra kommer att tycka om en själv. Det blir synligt att det finns ett behov för att arbeta med dessa ämnen i skolan då informanterna uttrycker att det kan främja förmågan att hantera oliktänkande, förbereder en för livet efter skolan och övar en färdighet som alla har lika rätt att lära sig. Det framgår också att bildskapande är ett medium som har hög potential att uttrycka åsikter, väcka känslor och få en att tänka. Under arbetet har jag tagit ett dubbelt perspektiv där jag parallellt med uppsatsskrivningen har filmat reflektioner som väckts. De filmade reflektionerna har sammanställts i videoverket Varför är det svåra svårt? som visades på Konstfacks vårutställning. Idéer som väcktes under arbetet presenterades på Bildpedagogiskt symposium om demokrati och framtid på Vårutställningen på Konstfack 25 maj 2023 som anordnades av Belinda Morén, Katarina Seth, Mari Eriksson, Sandrine Samuelsson och Amanda Sammeli. 1 Skolinspektionen (2022). Skolans hantering av kontroversiella frågor i undervisningen - Inriktning samhällskunskap och biologi i årskurs 8 och 9, publicerad 28 nov 2022, s. 5. / We are currently in a time of polarization in the political climate when more topics and issues are gaining controversial charge. Since school is a place where young people should have the opportunity to develop democratic knowledge and abilities which, in the long run, should act as a force of resistance against risky and undemocratic behavior, active work with the democratic mission must take place. But the Swedish Schools Inspectorate's latest report shows that 21 out of 30 primary schools in the country are failing in their work with the democratic mission.1 This study intends to investigate how visual arts education, through work with controversial subjects, can develop democratic abilities and skills.  As a starting point in the study, students' and young adults' perceived ideas, experiences and thoughts regarding the democratic potential of creative practices and the work with controversial subjects in the subject of visual arts are examined. I have interpreted their answers using discourse analysis as an interpretive framework and theories about which subject positions we take in the meeting with others and dissenters. The results show that the term "controversial" is complex and contextual and something that students shy away from talking about and working with. This seems to be due to a lack of ability to deal with dissent and engage in democratic conversation, mainly out of a fear of what others will think of oneself. It becomes clear that there is a need to work with these subjects because, according to the informants, it can train the ability to cope effectively with dissent, prepare for life after school and practices an ability that everyone shares equal right to learn. It is also evident that image creation is a medium that has a high potential for expressing opinions, waking emotions and making one think. During the process of writing the thesis, I have taken a double perspective where in parallel with writing, I have filmed myself reflecting on the process itself. The filmed reflections have been compiled in the video work Why is the difficult difficult? which was shown at Konstfack's spring exhibition. Ideas that arose during the work were presented at the Visual Arts Education Symposium on Democracy and the Future at the Spring Exhibition at Konstfack 25 May 2023 organized by Belinda Morén, Katarina Seth, Mari Eriksson, Sandrine Samuelsson and Amanda Sammeli. 1 Skolinspektionen (2022). Skolans hantering av kontroversiella frågor i undervisningen - Inriktning samhällskunskap och biologi i årskurs 8 och 9, publicerad 28 nov 2022, s. 5.

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This qualitative study examines the relationship between professional group belonging and what individuals deem valuable within the creative partnership projects they carry out together in schools. There were three consecutive stages to the research. The first stage was the phenomenographic analyses of interview transcripts from twenty three teachers and twenty three creative practitioners who partnered each other to run year long projects. The second stage was the aggregation of the resulting forty six analytic outputs into formats permitting inter-group comparisons to be made. This stage included three separate analyses: not only was an individual¿s professional group belonging shown to impact on what they deemed valuable, but partnership type, i.e. new versus established, also had a substantive impact. The influence of school type was examined and shown to have a lesser effect. The third stage was the use of formal, academic theories to interrogate trends appearing in the results: social identity theory and social representations theory, alongside discursive psychology and readings of identity from cultural studies, were mobilized as consecutive lens on the analytic outcomes. These theories were found to be apposite and a deeper comprehension of creative partnership dynamics was arrived at. This study evidences not only a difference between what teachers and creative practitioners respectively value, but shows how the application of theory is a valuable aid in understanding the variations. This represents a major contribution to the field as the use of formal academic theories does not, as yet, feature in the discourses underpinning creative partnership work.

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The purpose of this study is to begin to articulate the theoretical identity of the field of dance studies as an academic discipline and to produce a feminist intervention into the phenomena of disembodied scholarship, while asking questions about disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity within dance studies historically and today. My primary research questions are: What are dance studies research methods? And, which research methods, if any, are inherent to dance as an academic discipline? In order to answer these seemingly direct and simple questions, I also question the assumption that we know what dance studies research methods are. In Chapter 1 I first introduce and qualify myself as a dance artist and scholar, connecting my own experiences to my research; I narrate my research questions in detail and describe the significance, limitations, and scope of this project. In Chapters 2 and 3 I provide a history of the disciplinary and interdisciplinary origins of dance studies in higher education and situate that history within contemporary conversations in dance studies on disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity. In Chapter 4 I offer an analysis of the National Dance Education Organization's (NDEO) Research Priorities for Dance Education: A Report to the Nation and The Dance Education Literature and Research descriptive index (DELRdi), an online searchable database that aims to document all literature and research in dance education (not dance studies) from 1926 to the present, as it relates to issues and methods in my own research. In Chapter 5 I identify and describe current research methods found in all dance studies dissertations granted from the 4 doctoral programs in Dance in the United States over a three-year period. This chapter begins to articulate the current theoretical identity of the field. I examine and report on current trends in dance studies research methods and draw comparisons across dance studies doctoral programs, setting the foundation for future discussion of dance studies research methods. In Chapter 6 I summarize the project and make suggestions for the future. A feminist lens is used throughout as a way of providing a feminist intervention into the phenomena of disembodied scholarship by asking questions about research methods (particularly the use of critical theory as a method for research and writing about dance) and if or how particular research methods lead to the production of embodied or disembodied scholarship. / Dance

While there is growing research about the positive impact of teaching artists (TAs), these professional arts educators are an underused resource. As a TA, I have more than a decade of experience implementing spoken word and hip-hop as a pedagogical approach in urban public school classrooms. By conducting this autoethnographic study, I sought to explore insights from these 10 years of lived experience for understanding and documenting the critical principles of my practice as a TA. This autoethnography of my life as a TA tells stories from urban public school classrooms during my formative years as an educator. The research explored the impact my artistic practices have had on developing my pedagogical approach, including the emotional and financial challenges inherent to working on the margins. By interpreting and analyzing ethnographic material from five residencies, this research resulted in complex narrative accounts, which provide insights for the field of arts education, with a specific focus on TAs. Moreover, this study offers a visionary context for a liberatory educational praxis of spoken word and hip-hop in classrooms and communities.

No description available.

This qualitative study examines the relationship between professional group belonging and what individuals deem valuable within the creative partnership projects they carry out together in schools. There were three consecutive stages to the research. The first stage was the phenomenographic analyses of interview transcripts from twenty three teachers and twenty three creative practitioners who partnered each other to run year long projects. The second stage was the aggregation of the resulting forty six analytic outputs into formats permitting inter-group comparisons to be made. This stage included three separate analyses: not only was an individual's professional group belonging shown to impact on what they deemed valuable, but partnership type, i.e. new versus established, also had a substantive impact. The influence of school type was examined and shown to have a lesser effect. The third stage was the use of formal, academic theories to interrogate trends appearing in the results: social identity theory and social representations theory, alongside discursive psychology and readings of identity from cultural studies, were mobilized as consecutive lens on the analytic outcomes. These theories were found to be apposite and a deeper comprehension of creative partnership dynamics was arrived at. This study evidences not only a difference between what teachers and creative practitioners respectively value, but shows how the application of theory is a valuable aid in understanding the variations. This represents a major contribution to the field as the use of formal academic theories does not, as yet, feature in the discourses underpinning creative partnership work.

The following report documents my 480-hour internship from August 17th, 2015 to January 29th, 2016 in the Education and Public Programs Department at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC). I worked closely with the Marketing and Visual Art Departments. I chose the organization to experience an environment that commits itself to presenting high quality performing and visual arts. This paper assesses the CAC’s history, present day status, and future outlook. It also offers suggestions on how certain aspects can be improved in order to extend the organization’s longevity. Over the course of five months I observed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the organization. Additionally, using knowledge gained from my Arts Administration classes and personal observations, this paper offers predictions as to the organization’s future.

This internship report is an overview of KID smART and the fiduciary responsibility it provides to the citywide arts education initiative Any Given Child - New Orleans (AGCNO). I began my 480-hour internship with KID smART in February 2015 to work on getting AGCNO off the ground. The following report combines on-site observational research, expertise I developed from my educational training, and independent research to provide an analysis of KID smART and AGCNO’s current position, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Additionally, this report provides recommendations on how to address specific issues with operational management in order for AGCNO to establish independence and sustainability.