Arts-based methods as a pedagogical practice fostering affective connection among diverse youth

• In Event: Pedagogies that amplify youth voice and compel social action

Proposal

Arts-based methods (ABM) are being increasingly used in research with young people because they have been shown to be effective in fostering open and meaningful dialogue that genuinely reflects their lived experiences as youth (Nathan et al., 2023). This is important when conducting research with young people – who are often hesitant and distrustful to express their true experiences to adults and through words. Arts-based methods also question and re-examine dominant power dynamics (between researchers and participants; adults and youth; individuals with varying statuses of privilege) and ontologies, inviting youth to act as agents and co-creators of knowledge (Jokela, 2019). By creating conditions for youth empowerment through arts-based approaches, educators, researchers and youth workers can help position youth to think critically about the structural problems that act as barriers to equity (Greene et al., 2018). Much attention has been given to the richness and quality of data ABM are able to produce. What is less understood is the impact of ABM on the young people and communities with whom they are used. This matters because ABM has potential to be a powerful pedagogical tool helping youth reflect on their communities and take action to improve them.

While there is nascent evidence that young people become empowered through the acquisition of new skills and some research suggests that ABM can offer therapeutic benefits (e.g., de Jager et al., 2017), these impacts are only at the individual level. Differently, this paper explores how ABM can be used as a pedagogical tool to facilitate dialogue and emotional connections among young people who are different from one another and with whom they do not share an emotional or group affinity. Findings from a study seeking to understand how an arts-based youth program can foster trust and empathy among a diverse group of young people living in rural parts of central Minnesota, USA, and elucidate the ways in which ABM as a pedagogy creates space for youth to access and express hidden emotions and elicit affective responses rom peers. Thematic analysis of youths’ digital stories, poetry, photographs, and observations of their interactions in the youth program suggest that ABM helped youth move from individual introspection, to a more collective understanding of and emotional connection to their family, community, and peers’ histories and lived experiences. Dialogue paired with artistic activity is shown as an integral tool to help youth make sense of their experiences and express concerns (Konttinen et al., 2022); by reflecting with peers through structured and informal activities, youth make meaning of their experiences and insights in present time. Youth widely reported the positive impact of coupling dialogue with ABM to foster understanding and empathy between peers. These findings suggest that arts-based methods are effective pedagogies in repairing social and emotional isolation among diverse youth living in rapidly growing and diversifying rural communities in the United States.

Authors

• Erma Mujic, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

• Joan Dejaeghere, University of Minnesota

• Joanna A Tzenis, University of Minnesota

• Heidi Ione Fahning, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Zhuldyz Amankulova, University of Minnesota

• Ashley Purry, University of Minnesota - Minneapolis, MN (06940)

• Michael Winikoff, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities