What art compels: Students' artistic experiences in an alternative school

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: This study draws from qualitative research conducted in an alternative school in the Midwest to describe students' experiences creating art within the context of a state policy that dictates the need and form of artistic products. A growing number of alternative schools service students identified at-risk, and in the context under study, the state requires art in its alternative education programs. Although educators and researchers often present art as an inherently beneficial, liberating, and therapeutic endeavor, little research has explored how alternative school students experience the artistic process or the significance of requiring marginalized students to create art. This study is significant because it addresses a gap in the literature concerning how students in alternative schools understand and experience their art compared to the intent of policy makers and educators. With critical theory as a lens, this study utilized qualitative methods through 1) observations; 2) formal interviews; 3) researcher reflexivity; and 4) emergent and emic themes.

Findings and Conclusions: Three overarching themes emerged from my analysis: 1) students going through the motions of creating art; 2) students appropriating moments to make art their own; 3) student frustration with the lack of voice and the resulting constraints placed on expressive voice. In many cases, the students experienced the alternative school as a constraining environment in which they were restricted by space, time, prompts, guidelines, and evaluation of end products. Despite these constraints, students still tended to create art within these parameters with varying levels of degrees and engagement.