Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action
The English education system has recently seen something of a revival of enthusiasm for the use of research both to develop educational practices and to gather evidence about their effectiveness. These initiatives often present action research as a model of individual problem-solving, which, we argu...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis Online
2015
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32458/ |
| _version_ | 1848794411740168192 |
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| author | Townsend, Andrew Thomson, Pat |
| author_facet | Townsend, Andrew Thomson, Pat |
| author_sort | Townsend, Andrew |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The English education system has recently seen something of a revival of enthusiasm for the use of research both to develop educational practices and to gather evidence about their effectiveness. These initiatives often present action research as a model of individual problem-solving, which, we argue, communicates a limited conception of action research. In this paper we propose an alternative to this ‘problem-solving’ conception of action research that acknowledges the complex, messy nature of action research through the use of arts installations. Specifically, we present the reconnaissance phase of a project which brought together a partnership comprising a water heritage museum, university staff, teachers and artists. A pedagogical adaptation of contemporary installation art theory and practice fostered the exploration of individual and collective understandings of water, and also established a shared approach to curriculum development and ownership of the project among all participants. We propose that this creative practice enhanced and changed the process of reconnaissance; it allowed the group to establish and share commitments to the value of water conservation and generated a wide range of options for our action research. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:15:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-32458 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:15:46Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Online |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-324582020-05-04T17:02:52Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32458/ Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action Townsend, Andrew Thomson, Pat The English education system has recently seen something of a revival of enthusiasm for the use of research both to develop educational practices and to gather evidence about their effectiveness. These initiatives often present action research as a model of individual problem-solving, which, we argue, communicates a limited conception of action research. In this paper we propose an alternative to this ‘problem-solving’ conception of action research that acknowledges the complex, messy nature of action research through the use of arts installations. Specifically, we present the reconnaissance phase of a project which brought together a partnership comprising a water heritage museum, university staff, teachers and artists. A pedagogical adaptation of contemporary installation art theory and practice fostered the exploration of individual and collective understandings of water, and also established a shared approach to curriculum development and ownership of the project among all participants. We propose that this creative practice enhanced and changed the process of reconnaissance; it allowed the group to establish and share commitments to the value of water conservation and generated a wide range of options for our action research. Taylor & Francis Online 2015-02-10 Article PeerReviewed Townsend, Andrew and Thomson, Pat (2015) Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action. Educational Action Research, 23 (1). pp. 36-50. ISSN 0965-0792 Arts installations reconnaissance conservation environmental education messy methods complexity theory http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09650792.2014.994013 doi:10.1080/09650792.2014.994013 doi:10.1080/09650792.2014.994013 |
| spellingShingle | Arts installations reconnaissance conservation environmental education messy methods complexity theory Townsend, Andrew Thomson, Pat Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action |
| title | Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action |
| title_full | Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action |
| title_fullStr | Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action |
| title_short | Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action |
| title_sort | bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action |
| topic | Arts installations reconnaissance conservation environmental education messy methods complexity theory |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32458/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32458/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32458/ |