Creative Partnerships Nottingham

Report

Creative Partnerships Nottingham

Action Research

Professor Morwenna Griffiths

Felicity Woolf

The Research Unit,

School of Education,

The Nottingham Trent University,

Clifton,

Nottingham.

NG11 8NS

Executive summary ……………………………………………………...

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Thanks and acknowledgements ………………………………………….

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1. Aims …………………………………………………………………..

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2. Context ……………………………………………………………….

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3. Research approach …………………………………………………….

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4. How the evidence was collected ……………………………………...

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5. Findings ……………………………………………………………….

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6. Discussion and Conclusions …………………………………………..

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Appendices

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Phase A.

Action research (Phases A and B)

Phase D.

Diagrams of the apprenticeship model

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The research explored and developed an apprenticeship model of the learning which takes place in creative projects when creative practitioners work alongside teachers in school. Working closely with schools, the researchers investigated the appropriateness of the model, its impact on learning and its use in helping schools develop sustainable links with the creative sector which support pupils and their teachers in the continuing development of excellent arts, creative and cultural education. The research was in three overlapping stages. The researchers began by visiting all 23 schools in Creative Partnerships Nottingham, where they interviewed headteachers, teachers, pupils, parents, creative development workers and artists/creatives. A conference was held for all participants to report and discuss the results of the research, which led to the modification of the initial model. In the second stage, seven case study schools undertook action research on the impact of learning of the now modified model for all participants in the programme. In the third stage the researchers again visited all the schools and interviewed headteachers, teachers, pupils, parents, creative development workers and artists/creatives.

The research was able to explore and test the appropriateness of an apprenticeship model in the context of the Creative Partnerships programme in Nottingham. During the research, the model was developed and it is now clear that it is best described as a simple matrix in three columns which shows how 'everyone learns from everyone', together with a cycle diagram, which shows how a learner develops towards independence. The three column matrix is a planning tool, and can be used most effectively in conjunction with the cycle, as each point of the cycle is needed to inform the matrix.

Although the matrix and the cycle were found to be appropriate, they were not always recognised in schools by teachers. The matrix was most commonly recognised, but the cycle as a description of progression in learning did not seem to be widely known or utilised, although the research showed that the cycle described the learning which was happening in schools during creative programmes. The matrix and the cycle were straightforward and easily naturalised by teachers, some of whom rejected the naming of the model, preferring practical rather than theoretical knowledge.

Many schools, including the two special schools taking part, noted in particular how many children at risk of exclusion were able to achieve more and reach greater levels of independence.

To complete a planning pro forma, which was based on the matrix, teachers had to plan their role in projects in partnership with creative practitioners. Many found this an enjoyable and valuable process in itself. Many schools commented on the high level of professional development which had been achieved as a result, throughout the programme. It was acknowledged that this would have an impact on the sustainability of the programme, as it had sometimes contributed to building a different ethos and culture in the school, in support of creative learning.

Brokers working with schools, known as Creative Development Workers, were very important in the dissemination of the apprenticeship model, and were crucial in ensuring that schools allocated time to planning and in making the link between teachers’ professional development and sustainability.

The research suggested that the matrix and cycle, working in combination could be used successfully in several ways. They could be:

- a training tool for teachers and creative practitioners

- a planning tool

- an aid to professional development for teachers

- a powerful diagnostic tool, which could be used when things go wrong in partnership projects

- a way of promoting social inclusion in teaching and learning.

THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This report could not have been written without the help of a large number of other people, many of whom gave freely of their time and knowledge. We are very grateful to them.

Betty Smith, Joseph Windle and Margaret Simms have provided the administrative and secretarial back up without which little could have been achieved.

Kate Edmonds and Joanne Dalton in the office of Creative Partnership Nottingham were unfailingly helpful.

Karen Chantrey Wood helped us analyse the data, and draw out the themes, using evidence she collected in Phase B of the project.

Hugh James, the Director of Creative Partnerships Nottingham, gave us very useful ideas and perspectives with which to understand the evidence. He was also very supportive in practical terms.

Finally, we are immensely grateful to the hard-pressed headteachers, teachers, co-ordinators, creative development workers, creative practitioners, and, of course the pupils and their parents, who allowed us to interview them.

1. AIMS

The overall research focus of the programme was:-

To explore and test the appropriateness of an apprenticeship model in arts, creative and cultural education, and its impact on the learning of all participants in the Creative Partnerships programme in Nottingham (i.e. teachers, pupils, creative practitioners and creative development workers).

The research was structured using three research questions:-

1. How appropriate is the Apprenticeship Model as a tool to understand learning which takes place during activities where creative practitioners, teachers and pupils work together with the support of a creative development worker (CDW)?

2. What is the impact on learning of the use of a (possibly modified) Apprenticeship Model for all participants in the Creative Partnerships programme in Nottingham?

3. What use is a (possibly modified) Apprenticeship Model in helping individuals in schools and supporting institutions develop sustainable links which support pupils and their teachers in the continuing development of excellent arts, creative and cultural education?

2. CONTEXT

The research focused on schools in the Creative Partnership Nottingham, one of 16 partnerships funded nationally through the Creative Partnerships initiative. Creative Partnerships has an overall aim to create new ways of including young people of school age in the cultural life of their communities. The programme offers schoolchildren a sustained programme of artistic and creative opportunities. In Nottingham, 23 schools participated in the first stage of the project (2001-2003) - 3 secondary schools, 2 special schools and 18 primary schools.

There has been a long history of work by artists in schools in the UK over the last 25 years. However, the scale of resources given to Creative Partnerships is unprecedented. It was hoped that partnerships could be better planned, evaluated and sustained, and therefore be of greater quality and impact than had been possible in the past. The initiative was also significant in its focus on the broad agenda of creativity. It encouraged programmes which developed creative schools, teachers and pupils, and looked across the whole curriculum, not only at the arts.

As they were being established, individual Creative Partnerships were asked to develop themes which would give them a more specific identity, and provide research questions of local or regional interest, within broad categories suggested by the Arts Council of England’s Research Department. One of these categories is arts practice, and the role of the artist. The theme of apprenticeship, identified by the Creative Partnerships Nottingham, fitted into this area of research, as it allowed exploration of how the role of the artist or other creative practitioner should be characterised and how it changes and modifies as pupils become more independent and more creatively autonomous.

3. RESEARCH APPROACH

The programme used two educational research methodological frameworks:-

(1) phenomenological investigation using qualitative, ethnographic methods.

(2) action research using collaborative, participatory, self-study methods.

The first and last phases of the research used phenomenological approaches, that is they investigated the perspectives and understandings of the participants in the project, using methods which were language based rather than numerical. An outside researcher then drew together the different meanings made by the participants into a single narrative. The research was designed to draw out the commonalities and differences. These two phases focused on all the schools, and also on creative development workers and creative practitioners in the Creative Partnerships Nottingham.

The middle phases of the research focused on 7 case-study schools. This research was designed and steered by the schools’ creative partnership coordinators supported by the research team, and included other participants (teachers, pupils, CDWs, creative practitioners), sometimes as researchers and sometimes as subjects. The coordinators were doing action research of the kind which is also sometimes called ‘self-study’[1] in that they were investigating their own practice and its effects, investigating themselves as, in Jack Whitehead’s useful phrase, ‘living contradictions, living out one’s values’[2].

Action research is a cyclical process of problem formulation, evidence collection, analysis and reformulation. The whole cycle is characterised by a critical reflectivity about the meaning of the data and about the possibilities for improving the particular lived situation. Since the researcher is the practitioner, the precise formulation of the problem to be investigated depends on the individual. This form of research is a very powerful means of engaging practitioners in change, including self-change. It is also empowering because it is controlled by the practitioner, rather than by the outside support. Further, it has been found that changes based in action research are often better sustained than changes based on outside research, precisely because they are rooted in the perceptions of those most closely involved with carrying out the change.

Outline of the Method

The programme was carried out in four overlapping phases, each one building on the previous one. It drew on and contributed to Best Practice Research Scholarships in three of the case study schools.

Phase A

Focus on Research Question 2 (January 2003- April 2003)

- Pilot interviews.

- Semi-structured interviews with all schools: headteachers, teachers, parents, pupils.

- Semi-structured interviews with a sample of CDW's and creative practitioners.

- Invitations to all schools to participate in action research (Phases B and C).

- 7 case-study schools selected to be representative across cluster and age of pupils.

Phase B

Focus on Research Question 1 (February 2003 – September 2003)

- First cycle of action research for case-study schools.

- Individual action research questions developed by each school coordinator, in consultation with NTU research team.

- Action research questions addressed using appropriate methods (reflective journals, critical conversations, observations, etc).

- Conference for all Creative Partnerships participants.

- Apprenticeship model modified.

- Research presented at British and European Educational Research Association Conferences.

Phase C

Focus on Research Question 2 (September 2003 – October 2004)

- Second cycle of individual action research in the case-study schools

- Action research carried out in each school, in consultation with NTU research team, using new research questions arising from the emerging outcomes of first cycle.

- Research presented at ESRC seminar, National Creative Partnerships conference, and European Educational Research Association conference.

- Research integrated with Best Practice Research Scholarships in three case study schools. (Focus on role of CDWs).

Phase D

Focus on Research Question 3 ( February 2004 –October 2004)

- Structured interviews with all schools: headteachers, teachers, parents, pupils.

- Structured interviews with a sample of CDW's and creative practitioners.

- Apprenticeship model modified again.

- Outcomes of all four phases integrated into overall report.

- Research presented at European Educational Research Association conference.

- National conference organised by Creative Partnership Nottingham.

- BPRS outcomes presented to DfES for inclusion on web site.

Research team

Morwenna Griffiths and Felicity Woolf directed the research, and drew the overall analysis and conclusions.

Morwenna Griffiths and Felicity Woolf carried out Phases A and D.

Karen Chantrey Wood facilitated and researched Phase B.

Morwenna Griffiths facilitated and researched Phase C.

During Phases B and C, six of the seven coordinators in the case study schools successfully undertook action research. They were: Holly Wilson at The Elms, Sonja Adams at Glenbrook, Jo Reid at Radford, Judy Berry and Anne Holt at Rufford, Philippa Weekes at Seagrave, and John Naylor at Shepherd.

Research tools

Phase A:

Taped semi-structured interviews, with individuals and groups. Collection of documentary evidence. Rough transcriptions of interviews.

Phases B and C:

Individual and collaborative reflective journals and critical conversations, audiotapes, videotapes, questionnaires, observations, interviews, photographs, and anecdotal records.

Phase D:

Structured interviews. Full notes were taken during the interviews which were summarised immediately afterwards in writing. Collection of documentary evidence.

4. HOW THE EVIDENCE WAS COLLECTED

Phase A.

Focus on Research Question 1:

How appropriate is the Apprenticeship Model as a tool to understand learning which takes place during activities where creative practitioners, teachers and pupils work together with the support of a creative development worker?

The research was carried out by Morwenna Griffiths and Felicity Woolf in February-April, 2003. Between them they visited all 23 schools in Creative Partnerships Nottingham, where they interviewed the headteacher and/or the Creative Partnership co-ordinator. They also interviewed groups of pupils and, in three schools, groups of parents. Creative Development Workers and artists were also interviewed.

The process of the research was as follows:

a. Pre-visits. Both researchers together visited four schools (The Elms, Radford, Shepherd and Margaret Glenn Bott) chosen to be not untypical of the range of schools in the project. Teachers and co-ordinators were asked very general, open questions about the Apprenticeship Model and its impact on learning.