Centering Student Artwork As Sites of Engagement, Possibility, and Hope: Exploring Social Justice Art with Adolescents

Abstract

In an era of scripted curriculum and strict accountability, this research study examines how a social-justice, arts-based program encourages students to explore current social issues, with a sense of hope and possibility moving toward empowerment for both students and teachers. As this study focuses on how students engage in activism and explore social justice topics, the theoretical framework undergirding this research includes social justice pedagogies (Greene, 1995, 1997; hooks, 1994, 2013; Dewhurst, 2011, 2014), multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996; Cope and Kalantzis, 2009), multimodal theories (Kress, 2010; Jewitt, 2008; Harste, 2010), and public pedagogies (Biesta, 2012, 2014; Malley, Sandlin, and Burdick, 2020; Charman and Dixon, 2021). This study employs an intrinsic case study design, embedded within sociocultural theory at the macro-level, utilizing thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and mediated discourse theory (Scollon and Scollon, 2003; Wohlwend, 2020) in the analysis of visual media and artwork. This approach also allows for a broader macro analysis that places literacy events within specific situated and cultural contexts as well as a micro-level analysis of artifacts and interactions with material objects. Data collected includes classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and photos and videos of student artwork and performances. Central to the data in this study are the student artifacts, as the focus of learning and engagement both in classroom and in public spaces. The themes shared in the findings include the significance of narrative in generating artwork, creating conditions that support student engagement, hope and empathy as intentional points of reference, mobilizing of silenced voices, disrupting communal spaces through semiotic resources, and raising critical consciousness for all participants. Implications for this study include utilizing public spaces as sites of learning and meaningful transactions, leveraging semiotic resources as part of social justice commitments, and recognizing student artifacts as bridges and sites of possibility.