Teacher Agency and Empowerment Via Arts Integration: Classroom and Schoolwide Changes

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 3:35 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Fostering Resilience and Agency in Professional Development: Collaborative Learning, Equity, and Teacher-Coach Dynamics (Table 8)

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of arts-integrated learning on teachers' sense of agency and empowerment. Over two years, a professional learning program was implemented to integrate visual and emerging media arts into professional learning and K-12 curricula, transforming pedagogy across multiple educational settings. The research explored the impact of arts-integrated professional learning on teachers’ agency and empowerment and the subsequent transformations in their classrooms and schools. Utilizing constructivist grounded theory, data from focus group interviews were analyzed to identify categories. Teachers reported integrating arts practices into their teaching, experiencing professional growth, and fostering a student-centered learning environment. Enhanced agency and empowerment led to increased student engagement and learning. The results confirm that arts-integrated professional learning fostered transformative professional growth.

Authors

• Guy Trainin, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Azadeh Hassani, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• HyeonJin Yoon, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Kimberley D'Adamo, University of Nebraska - Lincoln