An Arts-Based Approach to Conceptual Educational Practice - Paper

Oct 15, 2026

Autobiographical writing and photographic imaging are used to develop an arts-based research methodology for understanding personal knowledge and how it informs professional knowledge in educator research. Drawing on a postmodern perspective, the author examines conflicts, opportunities, and purposes of visual arts-based narrative inquiry and links it to educator/researcher reflexivity and transformation. The work argues that teacher development can be explored through narrative inquiry grounded in reflective tools and evolving self-knowledge.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING

Theoretical Foundations and Reflective Tools

Postmodern Arts-Based Narrative Inquiry

Visual Metaphors and Narrative Understanding

An ArtsȬBased Approach to Conceptual Educational Practice Kate NickersonȬCrowe I present autobiographical writing and photographic imaging, an artsȬbased research methodology, to understand my personal knowledge as a means to understand my professional knowledge. Using my passions for writing and photography, I explore the conflicts, opportunities, and purposes of using a visual form of artsȬbased narrative inquiry from a postmodern perspective. I demonstrate that the relationship between artsȬbased narrative inquiry and educator/researcher reflexivity and transformation allows educators to focus their passions towards a greater understanding of what it means to teach. Keywords: artsȬbased research; narrative research; personal, professional knowledge development L’auteure présente une méthode de recherche axée sur les arts, laquelle fait appel à des écrits autobiographiques et à des photographies, autant de façons pour elle de pencher sur ses connaissances personnelles afin de comprendre ses connaissances professionnelles. Passionnée d’écriture et de photographie, l’auteure explore les conflits, les occasions et les buts liés à l’utilisation d’une forme visuelle de recherche narrative dans une perspective postmoderne. Elle démontre comment la relation entre la recherche narrative, la réflexion et la transformation del’enseignant/chercheur permet aux éducateurs d’orienter leurs passions vers une meilleure compréhension du sens à donner à l’enseignement. Mots clés : recherche axée sur les arts, recherche narrative, approfondissement des connaissances personnelles et professionnelles. Teacher development is a highly, if not redundantly, excavated area of research in education. Current research is now focusing on uncovering an array of creative and personal means to probe teacher professional development. Amidst the possibilities of research methods it can be CANADIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 28, 3 (2005): Online 1 difficult to discern which method can be a possibility for one embarking on a study of the self. This article presents the possibilities for educator researchers to question and explore complexities in their practice from a perspective which is meaningful to the researcher. I present the use of personal and creative aspects of the teacher self, proposing an alternative way of researching teacher professional development. I have used autobiographical writing and photographic imaging, an artsȬbased research methodology, to understand my personal knowledge as a means to understand my professional knowledge. Using my passions of writing and photography, I explore the conflicts, opportunities, and purposes of using a visual form of artsȬbased narrative inquiry from a postmodern perspective. I have demonstrated that the relationship between artsȬbased narrative inquiry and educator/researcher reflexivity and transformation allows educators to focus their passions towards a greater understanding of what it means to teach. As a postmodern educator/researcher, I am willing to examine life, to conceptualize new ways of thinking, and to embrace the subjectivity of experience. I view artsȬbased, narrative inquiry as a way to explore artistic and analytic practices as they relate to the personal and professional development of the self (Diamond & Mullen, 1999) . Using an artsȬbased and postmodern approach to consider educational practices, I have presented ways that assist educators/researchers in developing their professional understanding. Through my images I have shown that teacher development can be understood through artsȬbased inquiry to explore the journey of educators who expose questions, confrontations, connections, and purposes within their lives as educators. The images I share reveal my personal, practical knowledge and my development as an educator and student of education. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING My understanding of narrative and artsȬbased inquiry is situated in and motivated by the theories of Co

FAQs

What research approach does the article describe for studying educator knowledge?

It presents an arts-based research methodology combining autobiographical writing and photographic imaging to examine personal knowledge and its role in professional knowledge development.

How does the author connect arts-based narrative inquiry to teacher development?

The author argues that arts-based narrative inquiry, through educator/researcher reflexivity and transformation, helps educators focus their passions toward a deeper understanding of teaching.

Why does the author emphasize postmodernism in the study?

Postmodernism is presented as a stance that doubts any single universal claim to authoritative knowledge, supporting multiple reflective tools and shifting realities in telling and knowing a story.

Oct 15, 2026

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