RESEARCH REPORT

This qualitative research study explores how teachers can support students to activate a more self-driven, authentic creative inquiry within the art and design classroom; with a focus on the sketchbook as a tool to support students to cultivate their artistic voice. While the aim of Senior Cycle Art alludes to promoting the authentic self, the emphasis on standards and assessment in the curriculum places the spotlight on skills development and performance outcomes which may minimise opportunities for students to express their authentic self.  Pedagogies to empower students to create authentically is integral to achieving this aim. Underpinned by theoretical perspectives by Allen (2013), Power (2018) and Culp (2015), this study investigates how the sketchbook might be used to overcome the barriers and shortcomings of authentic artmaking within the Senior Cycle Art curriculum. The objective of the study was to evaluate how creative inquiry prompts could be employed to structure sketchbook practice during the incubation phase of the creative process, as per Wallas’ four stage model (Wallas, 1926), to support students to describe, contextualise and expand their creative choices and processes and activate a more authentic creative inquiry in the classroom. Given the context of a classroom-based study, action research was the theoretical framework used to underpin this. Data was collected through a variety of methods including student questionnaires, participant observation and student work to investigate the impact of the creative prompts on students and their engagement, motivation, values, learning and skills.

The findings of this study determine that the implementation of creative pedagogy, such as the use of the sketchbook, can encourage students to activate a more authentic creative inquiry in the classroom and become more autonomous in their artistic journey, while meeting the learning objectives of the formal curriculum. The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of creative inquiry prompts to propel students to embark on a personal journey of creative discovery and artistic growth that can transcend to usefulness when considering the sketchbook as a curriculum tool in second-level art education.