Context

For more than a decade, we, three South African teacher educators from research-intensive institutions, have been involved in collaborative arts-inspired self-study research (Samaras, 2010). We have worked with other colleagues and as a trio. Our locations in different disciplines within teacher education (Kathleen in teacher development, Linda in mathematics education, and Lungile in gender and curriculum studies) have enabled us to learn from each other’s expertise.

We have experienced diverse creative ways of learning about ourselves, our practice, and others during our self-study research explorations, raising new possibilities and perspectives (Cole & Knowles, 2008). As literary and visual arts-inspired self-study methods, we have used:

• Collage (Masinga et al., 2016)
• Dialogue (Pithouse-Morgan & Van Laren, 2015)
• Drawing (Van Laren et al., 2014)
• Letter writing (Pithouse-Morgan et al., 2012)
• Poetry (Van Laren et al., 2020)
• Readers’ theatre (Van Laren et al., 2019)
• Scrapbooking (Van Laren et al., 2016)
• Storyboarding (Pithouse-Morgan et al., 2015b)
• Storytelling (Masinga, 2014)
• Visual exegesis of a painting (Pithouse-Morgan et al., 2018)

Our arts-inspired self-study projects are based on the theoretical foundations laid by luminaries in arts-based educational research, such as Barone and Eisner (2006), Cole and Knowles (2008), and Mitchell and Weber (1999). These scholars explain how and why integrating the arts with academic inquiry provides new avenues to understand concepts and allows for expressing ideas in ways traditional written texts might overlook. They emphasise the transformative potential of the arts for educational and social change. As Eisner (2002) clarified, “The arts provide a platform for seeing things in ways other than they are normally seen. In so doing, they help us wonder, ‘Why not?’” (p. 83).

With Eisner’s “Why not?” question in mind, our joint self-study research expeditions have taken us through various creative learning modalities outside of customary academic frameworks in our efforts to address pressing educational and social issues (Mitchell et al., 2020). We have experienced how presenting and publishing our arts-inspired work can create a “ripple effect” (Weber, 2014, p. 12) that involves and encourages others, serving as platforms for change (Mitchell et al., 2020).

Aims

The Castle Conference Call for 2023 (S-STEP, n.d.) encouraged self-study researchers to pause and reflect intentionally to integrate new learnings from the past, present, and future. Inspired by the call, we began this study by asking, “What can we learn by mindfully pausing and purposefully co-reflecting on our arts-inspired collaborative self-study contributions?” To respond, we selected three published articles in which arts-inspired methods served as conversation starters and approaches to data representation and analysis (Pithouse-Morgan et al., 2018; Van Laren et al., 2019; Van Laren et al., 2020). We used these texts as material for pausing to co-reflect. The texts were the foundation for a multilayered arts-inspired self-study process that evolved organically through collective decision-making at each stage.

The Three Selected Articles

Our first article (Pithouse-Morgan et al., 2018) explores how we revealed and confronted our emotional fears as advisors of graduate students using self-study research to make a difference in several South African higher education institutions. Together with three other colleagues, we asked, “How can we work collaboratively and creatively to learn to navigate emotional entanglements in supervising self-study research?” Against the backdrop of pervasive traumatic stress related to the history of oppression and conflict in South Africa, we focused on the effort required to understand and respond to complex emotional knowledge in supportive and resourceful ways (Collins, 2013; Jansen, 2009). While our study focused on self-study research supervision in South Africa, we were mindful that research supervision, in general, can be emotionally taxing (Strandler et al., 2014). This is especially true of self-study supervision because of the openness and vulnerability required (Pithouse-Morgan et al., 2015a).

In this first article, the self-study process began with the visual exegesis (critical explanation or interpretation) of a painting (Hamilton, 2005). We chose to work with an expressionist painting because expressionism offers subjective perspectives and elicits emotional responses (Gordon, 1966). We composed a poem to collectively represent our reactions to the visual exegesis (Langer & Furman, 2004). Our examination showed how, over time, arts-inspired self-study with trusted colleagues facilitated the unfolding of emotional complexities in a contained and responsive manner. Emotional containment entails creating conditions in which emotions are purposefully aired in a secure environment to increase capacity for action and change (James, 2011). Our self-study showed how collaborative learning that used creative entry points and elicited subjective responses in a safe environment facilitated a deeper understanding of emotional perplexities. We believe that this is critical to developing self-study supervision pedagogy in a personally and socially just manner.

Our other two selected articles addressed HIV and AIDS education integration in higher education curricula. Considering that 7.8 million people in South Africa are infected with HIV, the pandemic continues to be a significant social issue, and the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS remains a major source of social injustice (Be in the KNOW, 2022). As teacher educators, we have a crucial role in supporting teachers in schools and higher education to openly and constructively address issues related to HIV and AIDS. As part of our social responsibility, we used arts-inspired methods to start discussions about HIV and AIDS education. In both articles, we drew on our shared interest in research and teaching strategies inspired by the performing, visual, and literary arts (Van Laren et al., 2019; Van Laren et al., 2020).

The first of these two articles focused on creating a readers’ theatre script. Readers’ theatre scriptwriting is a creative, analytical technique in which researchers create a dramatic script from edited excerpts of a research transcript (Donmoyer & Yennie-Donmoyer, 1995). We created a readers’ theatre script to reflect on our use of everyday objects for opening dialogues in an HIV and AIDS curriculum integration workshop. The workshop attendees included university educators and graduate students from various disciplines and departments at a neighbouring university (Van Laren et al., 2019). In this self-study, we asked, “What can we learn about workshopping HIV and AIDS curriculum integration research in higher education by collaboratively composing and reflecting on a readers’ theatre script?”

We chose responses from three workshop participants to illustrate the outcomes of the object activity when writing our script (Van Laren et al., 2019). As part of the consolidation, we discussed how we responded to the social responsibility mandate outlined in the Policy and Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS for Higher Education through this work (Higher Education HIV/AIDS Programme, 2012). We recognised that writing the readers’ theatre script provided thought-provoking opportunities for us to interrogate and strengthen our professional learning. The script became a mirror in which we could see our progress in understanding the value of arts-inspired, participatory activities in higher education for containing and connecting professional learning, particularly in emotionally charged areas such as HIV and AIDS.

We wanted to build on our learning from creating a readers’ theatre script (Van Laren et al., 2019) for the subsequent article (Van Laren et al., 2020). Following the script’s completion, we asked five teacher-educator colleagues to read it aloud at a South African national education conference. The title of our presentation was “Containing HIV/AIDS: Composing a readers’ theatre script for relevant and authentic professional learning in higher education”. After the presentation, we asked, “What can we learn about imagining new ways of knowing for social change by staging a readers’ theatre script?” We then discussed how other educators reacted to possibly using such a tool to promote HIV and AIDS conversations. To reflect on the learning potential of using the script, we engaged with the script readers and the audience who attended the conference session. As poetic analysis, we composed a series of blank verse poems (Literary Devices, 2019). We concluded that staging a reader’s theatre script could aid educational and social change (Mitchell, 2008) by opening productive conversations about HIV and AIDS issues.

Our Creative Co-reflection Methods

Participants

As a collaborative team of self-study researchers, we were the participants in the creative co-reflection on our arts-inspired research initiatives. We were based in two South African provinces and worked from home due to COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, we did most of our work via email and a virtual group space on the WhatsApp message application.

Trustworthiness

We provided step-by-step details of the exploratory self-study research process to enhance trustworthiness (Feldman, 2003). We described our data sources and analysis and how our learning progressed. The characteristic of vigour in poetic research also influenced the design of our creative co-reflection (Faulkner, 2016). Considering vigour as a quality indicator motivated us to prioritise growth, vitality, and energy in our work.

Data Sources

The three selected published articles served as our primary data sources. The second set of data sources consisted of rich pictures (Campbell Williams, 1999) that we individually drew in response to our research question (Figures 1, 2, 3). Rich pictures are a visual brainstorming mode in which detailed images generate new perspectives on an issue or question (Checkland, 2000). Rich pictures were initially used in soft systems methodology (Checkland, 2000), but they have also been successfully used in collaborative self-study research (Pithouse-Morgan et al., 2016a; Samaras & Pithouse-Morgan, 2021). Kathleen had previously used rich images with other self-study collaborators, but this was the first time we created rich pictures as a team of three researchers.

We each drew a black-and-white image to represent our initial, personal response to the research question. After creating the pictures and sending photos of them to each other, we each shared a voice note describing our drawing via WhatsApp. The third set of data sources consisted of the transcripts of our three WhatsApp voice notes. Our rich pictures and lightly edited excerpts from the voice note descriptions are included below.

Figure 1

Kathleen’s Rich Picture: “Something Organic and Growing”

Kathleen: My rich picture is of growing leaves or a flower, which is quite beautiful because of its uniqueness. The uniqueness comes from our collaborative work’s different shapes, textures, and patterns. Those come from our life experiences and backgrounds, mixed with the various art-inspired forms we experiment with. I have filled in some of the leaves or petals. We have created those pieces together and individually, but there are still many leaves or petals waiting for our new adventures to be filled in.

Our individual capacities and experiences combine to create something that couldn’t be made alone, something living, dynamic, and organic. We do this experimenting because it’s fun, and we enjoy doing it together, but we also do it because there is a need for change, growth, and justice at the centre. It’s a deep sense that we, as teachers and teacher educators, parents and grandparents, are committed to working for a better world, particularly for young people. And we’ve seen a ripple effect when we’ve shared our work, which can offer people new ways of looking at things and fresh ideas.

Figure 2

Linda’s Rich Picture: “Not Merely Connecting the Dots”

Linda: I titled my annotated diagram “Not merely connecting the dots”. The jagged appearance of the diagram indicates the non-conventional arts-inspired methods we explored. I drew three concentric, irregular, concave polygons to represent our three articles.

The outermost polygon represents my experiences working with other self-study researchers in exploring the emotional entanglements in supervising self-study research. Our experiences were emotionally charged as we grappled with being “novice” supervisors of graduate self-study research students.

The next polygon represents my experiences in creating a readers’ theatre script to make public our learning about HIV and AIDS curriculum integration at a higher education workshop.

The innermost polygon depicts my learning experiences from staging our readers’ theatre script at a national conference.

The spongy central part of the diagram represents our prospective learning by co-reflecting on our experiences after publishing our three articles. As a team of researchers, we intended to bind, connect and extend our learning by pausing to facilitate and look forward to thought-provoking, shared, and novel self-study experiences.

Figure 3

Lungile’s Rich Picture: “Ice-Cream Cone”

Lungile: The ice cream cone made me think of our experiments with arts-inspired methods. These methods help us in receiving ideas and balancing our thoughts. They create a beautiful vessel to communicate various issues. We have written and spoken through them, and engaged in physical activities. The cone is the foundation where all these collaborative ideas are created. I look at the twirling of the ice cream; like it, we are going around in upward mobility, where each layer in the twirling keeps growing. Our first enjoyment is that tip, the first thing we bite into, and I think that is where our work is now.

People find enjoyment at that peak, and the more they dig into it, the more they realise its impact on the various issues we have tried to share with our diverse audiences in different ways. But I see it intertwining, and I see us in there because for that twirl to stay firm, it has to work together, and we have found our balance through our collaboration, where we are feeding off each other. Sometimes we have more than one form of arts-inspired method we are working with. Eventually, it comes together. I see our work as intertwined and twirling to create something we enjoy making and sharing.

Kathleen and Linda drew similar, whirled, concentric two-dimensional diagrams. Kathleen focused on ongoing aspects of growth related to professional learning, whereas Linda provided summaries and connections related to the three articles. Lungile also drew a whirled shape, representing a three-dimensional object to emphasise aspects of working together collaboratively.

Data Analysis

Step One: Tweets

We opted to make sense of the data in a dynamic, emergent process (St. Pierre & Jackson, 2014). As the first step in our analysis, we created tweets (posts on the social media application Twitter with a maximum of 280 characters) inspired by the voice notes describing our rich pictures. We frequently use tweets for data generation and analysis (Pithouse-Morgan et al., 2018; Pithouse-Morgan et al., 2016b) because the character limit and public Twitter forum encourage concise, clear communication. Composing the tweets necessitated sifting through our voice note transcriptions to discern what each of us saw as most relevant to our guiding research question:

Kathleen's Tweet. As teachers and teacher educators, we are committed to working for a better world, particularly for young people. We see the ripple effect of collaborative arts-inspired self-study methods and how they offer new ways of looking at things. And that matters; it makes a difference!

Linda's Tweet. As a team of self-study researchers, we balance, sustain and nurture organic growth of our professional learning. Arts-inspired methods facilitate our “making a difference” aims. We connect, extend and pursue purposeful yet unique, unpredictable and adventurous research journeys.

Lungile's Tweet. Beautiful vessel for connecting messages that is organic and growing with rippling effect. Art-inspired methods help bind, connect and extend our thought-provoking contributions. Collectively we pause to co-reflect on our powerful intertwining work for change, growth and justice.

Step Two: Found Poems

The tweets served as material for poetic analysis (Langer & Furman, 2004). For this step, we created a found poem (Butler-Kisber, 2005) by finding words and phrases in the three tweets that spoke to each other. We were inspired by the poetic format of the Renga, a Japanese form of linked-verse poetry traditionally created by two or more poets as a kind of conversation (Britannica, 2021). Kathleen proposed an adaptation of Renga in which different team members crafted certain parts of the poem using words and phrases from our set of tweets. We worked via email to create “An Organic Vessel with Rippling Effect” (Figure 4). Instead of focusing on writing a poem with literary merit, we emphasised the fun and spontaneity of thinking and communicating through poetry.

Figure 4

The Found Poem