Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action

with the �Get Wet� team; Townsend, Andrew; Thomson, Pat

Abstract

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.

Citation

with the ‘Get Wet’ team, Townsend, A., & Thomson, P. (2015). Bringing installation art to reconnaissance to share values and generate action. Educational Action Research, 23(1), 36-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2014.994013

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 19, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Feb 10, 2015
• Publication Date: Jan 2, 2015
• Deposit Date: Mar 23, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 23, 2016
• Journal: Educational Action Research
• Print ISSN: 0965-0792
• Electronic ISSN: 1747-5074
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 36-50
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2014.994013
• Keywords: Arts installations, reconnaissance, conservation, environmental education, messy methods, complexity theory
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/745239
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09650792.2014.994013
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=reac20