Putting ourselves in the picture: art workshops in the professional development of university lecturers.

Loads, Daphne Jane

Abstract

Nurse education is characterised by dissonance, ambiguity and uncertainty. Such a context makes demands on the educator’s authenticity or sense of self. This paper reports an attempt to provide a space where dissonance, ambiguity and uncertainty could be held, tolerated and examined and where authenticity could be recovered or developed through the practice of artistry. Three art workshops were offered to 8 nurse educators over a period of three months. Each of the participants and the co-facilitator were subsequently interviewed. All welcomed the opportunity to find meaning in their practice and to be listened to in a climate of empathy, acceptance and congruence. They undertook novel activities that allowed for discovery and surprise. They explored their sense of self and coined fresh metaphors to communicate their experiences. The paper argues that there is room for approaches to academic staff development that go against the mainstream.

Citation

Loads, D. J. (2009). Putting ourselves in the picture: art workshops in the professional development of university lecturers. International Journal for Academic Development, 14(1), 59-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/13601440802659452

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2009-02
• Deposit Date: Feb 18, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 28, 2009
• Print ISSN: 1360-144X
• Electronic ISSN: 1470-1324
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 59-67
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13601440802659452
• Keywords: Art workshops; Therapeutic value; Educational value; Lecturer training; Nurse training
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/2488
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13601440802659452