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Goodyear, KM dissertation 4-17-18.pdf (14.88 MB)

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Undergraduate Identity Exploration Through the Arts: Increasing Self-Awareness and Cultural Sensitivity

Goodyear, Kathleen McMichael
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2932-4135
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524015568310808

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Arts Administration, Education and Policy.
This dissertation discusses how engaging in arts-based identity exploration activities can help traditional-age undergraduates (ages 18-24) develop increased self-awareness and cultural sensitivity. The dissertation first explores the participatory inquiry paradigm and the roles of artistic/creative expression in holistic knowledge creation and transformative learning. It then provides an overview of the field of arts-based inquiry and its wide variety of approaches. The following chapters discuss traditional-age undergraduate identity development and how arts-based identity exploration activities can be used in undergraduate multicultural social justice courses to foster self-awareness and cultural sensitivity. Chapter 8 discusses the author's Spring 2016 in-class research at The Ohio State University, in which 50 students from a wide variety of majors engaged in various arts-based identity exploration activities. It was conducted within two sections of the general education course "Visual Culture: Investigating Diversity and Social Justice." The study was grounded in the participatory inquiry paradigm. It addressed these research questions: (1) Can engaging in arts-based identity exploration activities help the traditional-age undergraduates in this study increase their awareness and understanding of their own and others' individual and cultural identities and thereby increase both self-awareness and cultural sensitivity? (2) If so, which specific activities, utilizing which artistic modalities, do they find effective and in what ways? (3) Do study participants in non-arts/humanities majors react differently to various activities than do arts and humanities majors? If so, which activities and how? This mixed-methods study employed arts-based inquiry, qualitative, and quantitative methods. First, a qualitative questionnaire solicited students' views on whether and how arts activities could help traditional-age undergraduates further understand and develop their identities. Then students engaged in eight arts activities involving narrative, creative writing, visual, musical, theatrical, and embodied inquiry. After each activity, students wrote reflections on their process and insights gained and responded to Likert-scale and open-ended questions evaluating the activity's efficacy and suggesting improvements and/or other activities. At the end of the semester, students responded to the same open-ended questions they did at the beginning, plus follow-up interviews were conducted with ten students. Examples of students' written and visual creative work and excerpts from students' reflections, questionnaire responses, and interviews are provided. Statistics regarding students' Likert-scale responses are presented in the aggregate and broken down by college/program. All 50 students reported gaining insights about their identity from at least one activity, with most benefiting from several and a few benefiting from all the activities. In their written responses, students provided rich detail regarding how the insights gained had increased their self-awareness and cultural sensitivity. In the aggregate, students in their Likert-scale responses rated all but one activity positively. Surprisingly, the non-arts/humanities majors in the majority of cases rated the activities more highly than did the arts/humanities majors, with several expressing gratitude for having an opportunity in college to explore identity. Finally, the dissertation discusses the numerous ways arts-based identity exploration activities can be used in undergraduate courses, teacher education and other helping profession programs, service-learning, study abroad and other high-impact practice programs, and student life programs.
Christine Ballengee Morris, PhD (Committee Chair)
Joni Boyd Acuff, PhD (Committee Member)
Shari Savage, PhD (Committee Member)
Deborah Smith-Shank, PhD (Committee Member)
626 p.
Art Education; Higher Education; Multicultural Education
undergraduate students; undergraduates; holistic education; participatory inquiry; transformative learning; arts-based inquiry; arts-based research; college student development; identity development; multicultural education; multicultural arts education

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Goodyear, K. M. (2018). Undergraduate Identity Exploration Through the Arts: Increasing Self-Awareness and Cultural Sensitivity [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524015568310808

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Goodyear, Kathleen. Undergraduate Identity Exploration Through the Arts: Increasing Self-Awareness and Cultural Sensitivity. 2018. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524015568310808.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Goodyear, Kathleen. "Undergraduate Identity Exploration Through the Arts: Increasing Self-Awareness and Cultural Sensitivity." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1524015568310808

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1524015568310808
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.