PhD Oral Exam - Nancy Long, Art Education

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

Abstract

In educational programs across Canada, creativity, innovation and risk-taking are important attributes to develop in students. The persistent emphasis on producing final products and the stressful school pressures to perform are at odds with the uncertainty on which risk and creativity are predicated. In response, this arts-based action research (ABAR) asked: how can high school students’ engagement with risk-taking in the art room equip them to deal with ambiguity and resist the hidden curriculum that converges towards predetermined outcomes? I explored this question in an intervention with a group of Grade 11 students and their art teacher in their Visual Arts class, in Montreal, Quebec. With the help of the students’ art teacher, we emphasized students’ process work and decentralized power, and leaned into an alternative assessment approach, moving away from high-stakes evaluations. Findings revealed that, despite the numerous conditions created by the art teacher and researcher to encourage student agency, creative decisions were often encumbered by schooling’s implicit values surrounding measurement and results. Most students, however, appreciated the focus on process over product. Complementing the participant data, I conducted two iterations of a self-study - one prior to the intervention and the other in response to it - examining my own engagement with ambiguity and risk in my art practice, and how it informs my teaching. Combined results from the intervention and the self-study fostered personal pedagogical growth as a practitioner and signalled a need for alternative teaching practices and their integration in teacher training.