The unspoken power of collage? Using an innovative arts-based research method to explore the experience of struggling as a teacher

Abstract

This article reports on the methodological approach taken in a doctoral study that explores what it means to be struggling as a teacher. Participants were established and experienced teachers and leaders in the secondary school system in England. A particular form of collage – where materials are placed rather than stuck – was used within the context of a research interview. Arts-based methods such as collage are gaining in popularity as they stimulate visual rather than linguistic thinking and offer the opportunity to express experiences as holistic, non-linear metaphors. Collage also has revelatory potential as it helps uncover that which participants cannot necessarily express in words alone. The author presents the analytical challenges of intermingling the verbal and visual data in her study by discussing the collages created by two participants. An analysis of those collages shows that factors influencing struggling can be both internal and external. Struggling was found to be experienced as a temporary fractured state. Struggling was expressed by participants as heightened bodily tensions with a predominantly negative emotional tone; it can also involve a damaged self-view and a reduced sense of controllability, and may lead to impaired performance.

Making Nature Explicit in Children’s Drawings of Wellbeing and Happy Spaces

“…Participatory and arts-based research methodologies were the primary approaches adopted in this study (McNiff, 2009 ). The value of participatory and arts-based methods has been widely recognised for the potential to stimulate visual, rather than linguistic thinking (Cochran et al, 2008 ), thereby allowing children the space and time to uncover thoughts or experiences that they might struggle to verbalise (Culshaw, 2019 ). This is particularly important for young children at school in order not to feel concerned about whether their words or sentences follow certain grammatical rules (Cochran et al, 2008 ).…”

“…This is particularly important for young children at school in order not to feel concerned about whether their words or sentences follow certain grammatical rules (Cochran et al, 2008 ). In cases when words are inadequate to describe feelings and thoughts (Frosh, 2002 ; Leitch, 2006 ), the arts may become an alternative way of representing children’s experiences, or to allow children to access words through different routes (Culshaw, 2019 ). In addition, arts-based methods offer children the opportunity to slow down and enjoy the process of meaning-making (Roberts and Woods, 2018 ).…”

School Bullying Through Graphic Vignettes: Developing a New Arts-Based Method to Study a Sensitive Topic

“…Visual research methods are not new but have been traditionally developed and used in life sciences. Recently, however, researchers have been highlighting the effectiveness of visual methods and arguing in favor of their wider use in social and educational research (Ciolan & Manasia, 2017;Culshaw, 2019;Holm et al, 2018;Moss & Pini, 2016;Pain, 2012;Vacchelli, 2018;Woolner et al, 2010).…”

“…After engaging with graphic vignettes and creating their own stories, participants were invited to complete an in-depth follow-up interview. Interviews play an important role in artsbased research, facilitating mutual understanding between a participant and a researcher and ensuring accurate interpretations of creative outputs (Bagnoli, 2009;Culshaw, 2019;Mitchell et al, 2011). The interviews were framed around individual creative works with participants being acknowledged and respected as an equal partner capable of deep reflection and valuable contributions (Miller & Rolnick, 2013).…”

YouTube as a Recruitment Tool? A Reflection on Using Video to Recruit Research Participants

“…struggling by placing and moving a range of arts and crafts materials as their thinking developed. I have written elsewhere about the power of collage as a research method (Culshaw, 2019b).…”