International Association of Educators   |  ISSN: 2834-7919   |  e-ISSN: 1554-5210

Original article | International Journal of Progressive Education 2016, Vol. 12(2) 138-148

An Art Educator’s Journey of Becoming a Researcher: A Self-Reflective Auto-Ethnography of Identity Construction and Personal Growth

Martina Riedler

pp. 138 - 148   |  Manu. Number: ijpe.2016.011

Published online: June 01, 2016  |   Number of Views: 624  |  Number of Download: 1167


Abstract

In this self-reflective auto-ethnographic research, the author shares her experiences of introspection, change and professional growth as an art educator in an international context. Auto-ethnography is an approach to qualitative inquiry in which the researcher employs self-reflection to explore her personal experiences and connect these auto-biographical experiences to wider socio-cultural and political issues in society. This study recollects stories of the author’s personal journey as an Austrian art educator in the United States from a critical pedagogy perspective. Thereby, these stories present personalized narratives of moments of vulnerability, and the challenges of transforming traditional understandings of research and teaching into critical and participatory art pedagogies and practices. This self-reflective approach provides the author an opportunity to speak from the inside out as a researcher and educator having experienced a deeper understanding of “self” and to explore the changes that taken place in her activities along her journey of challenging the status quo in teaching and doing research.

Keywords: Auto-ethnography, identity construction, self-reflection, art education, critical pedagogy, participatory art


How to Cite this Article?

APA 6th edition
Riedler, M. (2016). An Art Educator’s Journey of Becoming a Researcher: A Self-Reflective Auto-Ethnography of Identity Construction and Personal Growth. International Journal of Progressive Education, 12(2), 138-148.

Harvard
Riedler, M. (2016). An Art Educator’s Journey of Becoming a Researcher: A Self-Reflective Auto-Ethnography of Identity Construction and Personal Growth. International Journal of Progressive Education, 12(2), pp. 138-148.

Chicago 16th edition
Riedler, Martina (2016). "An Art Educator’s Journey of Becoming a Researcher: A Self-Reflective Auto-Ethnography of Identity Construction and Personal Growth". International Journal of Progressive Education 12 (2):138-148.

References
  1. Adele, ade! (2006, January 25), Falter. Retrieved August 9, 2007, from http://www.falter.at [Google Scholar]
  2. Ansturm auf Klimt-Bilder: Belvedere auf Rekordkurs [A rush for Klimt paintings], (2006, February 5). Die Presse. Retrieved June 1, 2007, from http://www.diepresse.com [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson, L. (2003, summer). BOMB — Artists in Conversation: Marina Abramović by Laurie Anderson. BOMBmagazine. Retrieved September 22, 2015, from www.bombmagzine.org [Google Scholar]
  4. Beller, S. (2002). What is Austrian about Austrian culture? In G. Diem-Wille, L. Nagler, & F. Stadler (Eds.), Weltanschauungen des Wiener Fin de Siècle 1900/2000 (pp. 25–42). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. [Google Scholar]
  5. Beller, S. (2006). A concise history of Austria. Cambridge: University Press. [Google Scholar]
  6. Berger, D., & Steiner, B. (Eds.). (2003). Inventory: The work of Christine Hill and Volksboutique. Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz. [Google Scholar]
  7. Boylan, P. (1990). Museums and cultural identity. Museums Journal 90, 29–33. [Google Scholar]
  8. Brook–Shepherd, G. (1996). The Austrians: A thousand-year odyssey. London: Harper Collins. [Google Scholar]
  9. Bruckmüller, E. (2003). The Austrian nation: Cultural consciousness and socio-political processes (L. A. Bangerter, Trans.). Riverside, CA: Ariadne. (Original work published in 1996). [Google Scholar]
  10. Bruner, J. (1987). Life as narrative. Social Research 54(1), 11-32. [Google Scholar]
  11. Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar]
  12. Clandinin, J. D., & Connelly, M. F., (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [Google Scholar]
  13. Crooke, E. (2001). Confronting a troubled history: Which past in Northern Ireland's museums? International Journal of Heritage Studies 7(2), 119–136. [Google Scholar]
  14. Dewey, J. (1934). Art as experience. New York: Pedigree Books. [Google Scholar]
  15. Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. [Google Scholar]
  16. Ellis, C., & Bochner, A. P. (2000). Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp.733-768). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Google Scholar]
  17. Eryaman, M. Y. (2007). From reflective practice to practical wisdom: Toward a post-foundational teacher education. International Journal of Progressive Education, 3(1), 87-107. [Google Scholar]
  18. Eryaman, M. Y. (2008). Writing, method and hermeneutics: Towards an existential pedagogy. Elementary Education Online, 7(1), 2-14. [Google Scholar]
  19. Falk, J., & Dierking, L. (2000). Learning from museums. New York: Alta Mira. [Google Scholar]
  20. Finkelpearl, T. (2000). Rick Low on designing Project Row Houses. In T. Finkelpearl (Ed.), Dialogues in public art , (pp. 234-257). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [Google Scholar]
  21. Finkelpearl, T. (2013). What we made: Conversations on art and social cooperation. Durham: Duke University Press. [Google Scholar]
  22. Giroux, H. A. (1984). Rethinking the language of schooling. Language Arts 61, 33-40. [Google Scholar]
  23. Hein, G. (1998). Learning in the museum. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  24. Helguera P, (2011). Education for socially engaged art. New York: Jorge Pinto Books. [Google Scholar]
  25. Hooper-Greenhill, E. (Ed.). (1999). The educational role of the museum (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  26. Interview with Christine Hill (2007, July 4). Retrieved September 2, 2015, from http://we-make-money-not-art.com [Google Scholar]
  27. Jordan, G., & Weedon, C. (1995). Cultural politics: Class, gender, race, and the postmodern world. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. [Google Scholar]
  28. Josselson, R., & Lieblich, A. (2001). Narrative research and humanism. In K. J. Schneider, J.F.T. Bugenthal, & J.F. Pierson (Eds.), The handbook of humanistic psychology (pp. 275-289). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Google Scholar]
  29. Kelly, S., & Iles, C. (2004). Marina Abramović: The house with the ocean view. Milan: Charta. [Google Scholar]
  30. Klimt: Bilder werden am Montag abgehängt [Klimt: Paintings will be taken down on Monday]. (2006, February 4). Die Presse. Retrieved June 1, 2007, from http://www.diepresse.com [Google Scholar]
  31. Lacy, S. (Ed.). (1995). Mapping the terrain: New genre public art. Seattle: Bay Press. [Google Scholar]
  32. Linde, C. (1993). Life stories: The creation of coherence. New York: Oxford University. [Google Scholar]
  33. Lippard (1984), Get the message? A decade of art for social change. New York: E.P. Dutton. [Google Scholar]
  34. McNamara, T. (1997). Theorizing social identity: What do we mean by social identity? Competing frameworks, competing discourses. TESOL Quarterly 31(3), 561–567. [Google Scholar]
  35. MacIntyre, A. (1981). After virtue: A study in moral theory. London: Duckworth. [Google Scholar]
  36. Midgette, A. (2007, August 30). A quiet cultural forces leaves New York richer as he returns to Austria. New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2015, from www.nytimes.com [Google Scholar]
  37. Maloney, P. (2015, April 23). Interview with Rick Lowe by bad at sports. Artpractical. Retrieved September 25, 2015, from http://www.artpractical.com [Google Scholar]
  38. Miranda, C. A. (2014, April 7). How the art of social practice is changing the world, one row house at a time. Art News. Retrieved September 23, 2015, from www.artnews.com [Google Scholar]
  39. Muschamp, H. (2002, April 19). A gift of Vienna that skips the schlag. New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2007, from www.nytimes.com [Google Scholar]
  40. Norton Peirce, B. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Quarterly 29(1), 9-31. [Google Scholar]
  41. Polkinghorne, D. E. (1988). Narrative knowing and the human science. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. [Google Scholar]
  42. Polkinghorne, D. E. (1991). Narrative and Self-concept, Journal of Narrative and Life History 1(2-3), 135-153. [Google Scholar]
  43. Riedler, M. (2009). Das Erkennen verborgener Transformationsmöglichkeiten im Bereich der Kunstvermittlung [Unveiling transformative possibilities hidden away within the context of museum education], in C. Buschkühle (Ed.). Horizonte: Internationale Kunstpädagogik. InSEA Heidelberg Conference Publication. Oberhausen: Athena-Verlag, pp. 575-584. [Google Scholar]
  44. Riedler, M. (2010). The nature and notion of museums in the age of globalization, in E. Manley Delacruz, A. Arnold, A. Kuo & M. Parsons (Eds.).Anthology Globalization, Art, and Education. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association (NAEA), pp. 54-59. [Google Scholar]
  45. Riedler, M. (2012). “Learning to be Austrian: A meso-ethnographic museum and national identity analysis”. International Journal of Educational Researchers 3(2), 31-48. [Google Scholar]
  46. Roberts, L. (1997). From knowledge to narrative: Educators and the changing museum. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. [Google Scholar]
  47. Rogoff, I. (2000). Terra infirma: Geography’s visual culture. New York: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  48. Serota, N. (2000). Experience or interpretation: The dilemma of museums of modern art. New York: Thames and Hudson. [Google Scholar]
  49. Wagner, M. (1991). Kultur und Politik—Politik und Kunst [Culture and Politics—Politics and Art], Vienna: Böhlau. [Google Scholar]
  50. Weedon, C. (1987). Feminist practice and poststructuralist theory. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. [Google Scholar]
  51. Zweig, S. (1943). Die Welt von Gestern [World of Yesterday], New York: Viking Press. [Google Scholar]