Arts-Informed Inquiry in Teacher Education: Contesting the Myths
Source: European Educational Research Journal, Volume 7 Number 4, pages 512-522. 2008.
Arts-informed inquiry has attracted a great deal of controversy in recent times as it has gained popularity as an educational research methodology in teacher education. As with other innovative approaches and methodologies, there have been lively debates about its rigor, authenticity and appropriateness.
This paper suggests principles for its use in exploring relevant questions in teacher education research and investigates some of the issues that have been used to challenge its integrity.
Several recent teacher education research projects undertaken by staff and research higher degree graduates at the University of Sydney are discussed initially as exemplars and to provide a context for the discussion.
The authors demonstrate how research using arts-informed inquiry contributes perspectives and understandings that are distinctive from other methodologies and so can offer new understandings about some of the liminal issues in teacher education.