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Uelk_Dissertation_FINAL.pdf (52.52 MB)

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Arts-Based Pedagogies and the Literacy of Adolescent Students in High-Risk and High-Poverty Communities

Uelk, Katie Owens
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555430793261226

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Arts Administration, Education and Policy.
This dissertation explored the following central question: How can an arts-based learning process positively impact the literacy of adolescent students of color from high-risk and high-poverty communities? In this study, I examined the relationship between a pedagogical approach that incorporates arts-based pedagogies into hands-on, student-directed, and student-centered instructional methods and increasing the literacy achievement of students of color from high-risk and high-poverty communities. I explored if using arts-based pedagogies as an integral aspect of emergent and student-directed instructional methods is vital to improving adolescent literacy acquisition. In addition, this dissertation investigated what an arts-based and student-directed learning process looks like for the implementing teachers, how this approach can take the form of a culturally sustaining pedagogy, and how the art-making process mirrors the meaning-making process when engaging with texts. I utilized the methodological approach of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and the theoretical framework of Critical Multicultural Education Theory to develop a process for teaching and learning that incorporated both the arts and emergent student-directed instructional methods into the teaching of state-mandated, middle school English Language Arts standards in the general education classroom. I conducted this study at a public K-8 elementary school located within the city of Chicago. One 7th grade reading teacher and 19 of her reading students acted as study participants throughout the 2017-2018 school year. Additionally, I employed four main data collection techniques: 1) research journal; 2) correspondence log; 3) interviews; and 4) artifacts. The findings from the research illustrate that arts-based methods in the reading classroom have the potential to facilitate an emergent and student-directed approach to literacy instruction that enables students to take ownership as agents of their own learning. Additionally, arts-based methods in the reading classroom have a unique power to support students who would often not be successful in traditional classroom settings and would be labeled as struggling or failing readers on standardized assessments. Arts-based approaches accommodate diverse learning needs and value each child’s way of knowing as valid. Simultaneously, arts-based approaches allow teachers to assess understanding in multiple ways because they support the multitude of talents and abilities existing in the classroom and empower students to learn through their individual strengths. Furthermore, the study found that arts-based pedagogies facilitate the application of more equitable and democratic learning approaches while also having the potential to mitigate the risk factors often associated with students of color living in lower socioeconomic communities. Thus, the findings provide support for the critical argument that arts-based pedagogies are both an integral aspect of emergent and student-directed instructional methods and also a valid language through which to explore literacy learning for adolescent students of color living in high-risk and high-poverty communities.
Joni Acuff, PhD (Advisor)
Christine Ballengee-Morris, PhD (Committee Member)
Karen Hutzel, PhD (Committee Member)
Mindi Rhoades, PhD (Committee Member)
720 p.
Art Education; Curricula; Curriculum Development; Education; Education Policy; Educational Theory; Language Arts; Literacy; Middle School Education; Multicultural Education; Pedagogy; Teaching
arts-based pedagogies; adolescent literacy; arts integration; literacy; educational policy; No Child Left Behind; Participatory Action Research; critical multiculturalism; emergent learning; culturally relevant; urban schools

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Uelk, K. O. (2019). Arts-Based Pedagogies and the Literacy of Adolescent Students in High-Risk and High-Poverty Communities [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555430793261226

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Uelk, Katie. Arts-Based Pedagogies and the Literacy of Adolescent Students in High-Risk and High-Poverty Communities. 2019. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555430793261226.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Uelk, Katie. "Arts-Based Pedagogies and the Literacy of Adolescent Students in High-Risk and High-Poverty Communities." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1555430793261226

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1555430793261226
97
© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.