ERIC EJ1128055: EFL Students' Perceptions of Social Issues in Famous Works of Art

2016·0.24 MB·English

by  ERIC

http://dx.doi.org/10.19183/how.23.1.117
EFLStudents’PerceptionsofSocialIssuesinFamous
WorksofArt
Percepcionesdeestudiantesdeingléscomolenguaextranjera
sobretemassocialesenobrasdearte*
LizmendyZuheyBautistaUrrego
[email protected]
IngridJudithParraToro
[email protected]
UniversidadDistritalFranciscoJosédeCaldas,Bogotá,Colombia
Thisarticlereportsonaqualitative,descriptive,andinterpretativeresearchinterventioncasestudy
ofEnglishasaforeignlanguagestudents’constructionofperceptionsonsocialissuesfoundinfamous
works of art. Participants in this study engaged in the practice of critical thinking as a strategy to
appreciateartthatexpressessocialissues.TheresearchwasconductedataColombianpublicschool
overtendays.Famousworksofartwerepresentedwiththepurposeofcreatingaconversationclubin
whichstudentswereexpectedtoidentifyanddiscusssocialissuesimplicitinthoseworksofart.Data
werecollectedthroughdirectobservation,fieldnotes,andinterviews.Findingsshowedparticipants’
perceptionsofworksofartwhileinteractinginEnglishconversations.
Keywords:Conversationclub,criticalthinking,EFLinteraction,famousworksofart,students’
perceptions.
* Received:January16,2015.Accepted:February24,2016.
Howtocitethisarticle(APA6thed.):
BautistaUrrego,L.Z.,&ParraToro,I.J.(2016).EFLstudents’perceptionsofsocialissuesinfamousworksof
art.HOW,23(1),85-102.http://dx.doi.org/10.19183/how.23.1.117.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
InternationalLicense.LicenseDeedcanbeconsultedathttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
HOWVol.23,No.1,April/September2016,ISSN0120-5927.Bogotá,Colombia.Pages:85-102 85
LizmendyZuheyBautistaUrregoandIngridJudithParraToro
Esteartículoreportaunainvestigacióncualitativa,descriptivaeinterpretativadeingléscomolen-
guaextranjerasobrelaconstruccióndepercepcionesdelosestudiantesacercadeproblemassocialesque
seencuentranenobrasdearte.Losparticipantessecomprometieronalaprácticadelpensamientocríti-
cocomoestrategiaparaapreciarelartequeexpresatemassociales.Lainvestigaciónsedesarrollóenuna
escuelapúblicadeColombiadurantediezdías.Obrasdeartefamosasfueronpresentadasconelpropó-
sitodecrearunclubdeconversaciónenelquelosestudiantesidentificaronydiscutierontemassociales
implícitosenesasobras.Losdatosfueronrecogidosatravésdelaobservacióndirecta,lasnotasdecam-
poyentrevistas.Losresultadosmostraronlaspercepcionesdelosestudiantessobrelasobrasdearte
mientrasinteractuabaneninglés.
Palabrasclave:clubconversacional,interaccióneningléscomolenguaextranjera,pensamiento
crítico,percepcionesdelosestudiantes,pinturasfamosas.
Introduction
Humanbeingswanttounderstandthereasonsandpurposesforeveryaspectoflife.That
iswhyweaskquestionsandseekanswers.Thisiswhenourcriticalthinkingskillsarise.
This research focuses on how famous works of art can have an impact on students’
perceptions of reality through a strategy of critical thinking in a conversation club in the
foreignlanguage.ThisprojectwasdevelopedwithtenthgradersatapublicschoolinBogota,
Colombia.
During the pedagogical intervention, we encouraged students to discuss social issues
represented in works of art. Participants should be able to give opinions in and outside
classrooms,criticallyandcreatively,becausetheknowledgetoforgethesocialconstruction
ofrealityisbornindifferentkindsofinteractions.
Ourresearchisinterdisciplinarybecausewetookintoconsiderationfourareastoenrich
thenatureofthestudy.First,weconsideredpsychology,whichprovideduswiththeoretical
elementstoachievethecompletionoftheproject.Second,artcriticismtoanalyzestudents’
constructionofperceptionsonsocialissuesfoundinfamousworksofart.Anotherareawas
sociology, as social issues were covered during the pedagogical implementation. Finally,
owing to the linguistic characteristics of this research, we used metrolingualism as we
developedourEnglishasaforeignlanguage(EFL)intervention.Ourtheoreticalgroundwork
isframedonthefollowingauthors:Bloom,Facione,andDewey.
TheoreticalFramework
Thestudywasguidedbycriticalthinkingtoreflectonfamouspaintingswhichtransmit
socialissues.Thereforeweworkedwiththreemainauthors:Bloom(1971),tounderstandthe
way students internalize information or a determined group of values and how knowledge
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EFLStudents’PerceptionsofSocialIssuesinFamousWorksofArt
workswhilethinkingcritically; Dewey (1934/2008), to analyze howcriticism worksinarts
appreciation; and Facione (2011), to recognize different forms of judgments followed by
skillstothinkcritically.
Toanalyzehowstudentscreatetheirperceptionsofarts,wefollowedBlooms’Taxonomy
(1971) (the hierarchical organization of critical thinking stages, see Figure 1) to see how the
knowledge undergoes a transformation while students experience different stages seeking
critical constructs for criticizing arts. Bloom (1971) states that valuing information implies
consistencyandstability.Theauthorfurtheraffirmedthatstudentsareexpectedtostorein
theirmindscertaininformationandthebehaviorexpectedlateristherememberingofthis
information. Here is when knowledge, the first category in Bloom’s taxonomy, emerges in
differentsituationsandthestudentrealizesthattheinformationrelatestosocialreality.The
purpose of this endeavor is to see how students develop a behaviorcodethatregulates
their private and civic lives based on ethical principles coinciding with democratic ideals
(Bloom,1971).
Tocomplementknowledgeandbehavior,Bloom(1971)assertedthatitisimportant
thatthelearnerbecomeawareofthetermsandsymbols,whichinthecaseofourstudyare
theterms:paintings,materials,people,events,andsymbols.Studentsshouldalsolearnthe
definitionsormeaningsimplicitintheartwork,andtherepresentationandimportanceof
painting in society. We also want to highlight what Bloom (1971) states as the
characterization of values or valuing. He establishes that every piece of information has a
specificvalue,andstudentsgothroughahierarchicprocesstointernalizesuchinformation.
As Pineda (2004) points out, “becoming a critical thinker is a life-long task that is only
developed and sharpened through time and learning experiences” (p. 51). That is why we
Figure1.Bloom’sTaxonomyofCriticalThinkingStages(AdaptedFromAnderson&
Krathwohl,2001)
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believedthatthishierarchyisnotnecessarilyamandatoryorstrictprocess;inotherwords,
thestagesofcriticalthinkingvarywithindividualsandpersonalexperiences.
Thebehaviorcodesareexposedwhilestudentscriticizesocialreality,buthereemerges
the question: What is it to be a critic? Dewey (1934/2008) states that etymologically and
ideologically criticism is making judgments. We consider these judgments opinions that
studentsusetocreateavisionofrealitysupportedbyfundamentalideas.
Moreover,creativityandindividualpointsofviewarekeyaspectsinarts’criticism.Artis
suchawidefieldwherepaintingshavedifferentstylesandvaryfrommeaningandintention.
Artcriticismgoesbeyondthesuperficialideaofenjoyingcolorsandshapesonacanvas.They
aretheresultofanendeavortofindoutthataworkofartisanexperience.Toexplainthe
importanceofjudgmentsinartsappreciation,Dewey(1934/2008)states,theabsenceofan
externaldetermined,uniform,andpublicobjectdoesnotmeanthatobjectivecriticismofart
is impossible. It means criticism is judgment and all judgment involves an adventure, a
hypotheticalelementthatappliestothequalitiesofanobject.Someonewhoisacriticshall
provehimorherselfasadventurousandimaginative.
The analysis of arguments deserves special mention as Facione (2011) states that one
shouldestablishreasonstosupportorcontestaclaim,anopinion,orapointofview(whathe
calls purposeful reflective judgment, see Figure 2). This, in relation to arts, can be illustrated as
tryingtofindtheintentionsartistshadatthemomentofpainting.Participantstakeaspects
suchasbackgroundinformation,inspirationissues,contextualsituation,andexperiencesto
developarepresentationthatcharacterizestheinferentialflowofreasoning.Acriticalthinker
shouldbeawarethatthinkingcriticallyisapowerfultoolinthesearchforknowledge.
Figure2.SkillsInvolvedinPurposefulReflectiveJudgment(Facione,2011)
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EFLStudents’PerceptionsofSocialIssuesinFamousWorksofArt
Theartisticperceptionsoftheparticipantswereconsideredbyusasthemostimportant
constructofstudy,becausefromthevoicesofthestudentsiswherewecanunderstandand
witness the critical thinking skills or processes of thoughts. The foreign language was the
instrument used to communicate knowledge during the spaces we created throughout the
dayswehadavailabletosharewiththeparticipantsandtheworksofartweretheinstrument
togenerateargumentsandthoughts.
ResearchDesign
ThisstudyisqualitativeandcanbeexplainedbyHammersley(2005)as:“discipline-based
qualitativeresearchfocusedonaccumulatingfundamentalknowledgeaboutsocialprocesses
andinstitutions”(p.142).Thesesocialprocesseswereperformedbyparticipantsalongthe
sessions. Furthermore, Lather (2006)states that inquiry opens the space for the pursuit of
“inexact knowledges.” We agree with this statement because of the flexibility of the
characteristics of a qualitative study. This study is descriptive inasmuch as we take into
consideration the varieties of the phenomenon and its characteristics. Additionally, it is
interpretative because we aimed to understand why the phenomenon occurs and about its
impactthroughtimeasTimulak(2003)states.
This is how we work on our study due to our intention of understanding the way
participantsconstructtheirvisionsofsocialissuescontainedinfamousworksofartduring
Englishlessons.Theparadigmofthisresearchissocio-criticbecauseoftheperspectiveof
socialtransformation.Itconsidersthatknowledgeisalwaysbuiltbyintereststhatarebased
ontheneedsofthegroups.Itseeksrationalandliberatingautonomyofhumanbeingsandis
achievedbytrainingsubjectsforparticipationandsocialtransformation(Alvarado&García,
2008). We consider that transformation of social reality starts with a process of conscious
reflectionaboutreal-lifeproblems;thisparadigmmatchesourresearchduetoourinterestin
students’participationandawarenessofissuesoftheirenvironment.
Thisresearchcorrespondstoacriticalapproach,whichisthefocusweconsiderproperto
understandinglanguageasapracticerelatedtoart.Weshouldmergeacriticalapproachto
literacy,remarkingupontheideathatknowledgeissomethingtobeunderstoodandanalyzed
withintheformsofexperiencethatstudentsbringtoschool,asGiroux(1987)states,anda
criticalapproachtotheartswherewerecognizethestatementsofDewey(1934/2008).The
firstfocusesondiscourseandtextanalysisandthesecondfocusesontheanalysisofeventsin
thepracticeofartappreciation.
The type of study that we carried out wasthe intervention case study; additionally, the
method of this research corresponds to critical theory because it emerges as a vehicle to
promoteanunderstandingofhistoricalandculturalaspectsofsocietyandtogenerateactions
around its transformation (Gamboa, 2011). This is related to the artistic appreciation of
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famousworksofart.Furthermore, criticaltheorycanhelpusunveilwaysofchangingand
improvingthelearningprocess.
The participants of this research were ten students of a public school in Bogota,
Colombia,whowereabletounderstandformedconceptsofdifferenttopicsinreallifeaswell
as construct ideas and knowledge about it. They had an intermediate level of English and
recognizedthelanguageasawayofbuildingsocialinteractions.
For this study we used different instruments for data collection, including: direct
observation (information consigned in the journal), participants’ written reflections, and
interviews.Participants’writtenreflectionsgaveusthematerialtostudytheprocessofeach
student, the knowledge acquired during the sessions, and the positions they considered
importantwhileanalyzingaworkofart,itsinformation,andarthistory.
Theindividualinterview(seeAppendix1)wasthestartingpointtounderstandstudents’
personal opinions about the use of critical thinking during English classes. When we
presentedatopicandshowedaworkofartweaskedforpointsofviewbeforeandafter.The
evidence in this case was taken from conversations and participation of students. The
interview with focal groups was used because we were interested in contacting and
confrontingdifferentopinionsthroughanopeninvestigation.Alltheseinstrumentsprovided
uswithenoughmaterialtotriangulatetheinformationandreachconclusionstoanswerour
researchquestion.AllofthiswassupportedbyLeedyandOrmrod(2001).
Toanalyzethedatagatheredfromtheparticipants,weusedthegroundedtheorymethod
(Strauss&Corbin,1990),opencoding,axialcoding,andselectivecodingwhichguidedusto
comprehendtheeventsduringthesessions.Theinformationgatheredallowedustomakea
comparisonamongconcepts,seedifferencesandsingularities,discriminatingconceptsinthe
matrix, as well as getting the category and subcategory that created the body of our data
analysis.Weaimedtounderstand howstudentsperceivedthemessagesthatareimplicitin
worksofartregardingsocialissues.Thisexplainstheforminwhichthephenomenonacts
upon each student during the sessions and the way in which the art forms participants’
opinions.
PedagogicalIntervention
Ourprojectfocusedonunderstandingthecriticalthinkingprocessoftenthgradersata
publicschoolinBogotawhendebatingonsocialissuespresentedinfamousworksofartas
wellastheartisticworkcreatedbythestudentsthemselves.Studentsanalyzedthehistorical
backgroundsoftheartists,artisticstyleandtechniques,andtheartists’purposesatthetimeof
painting,andtheinterpretationofartsexperts.Thestudentswereresponsibleforexpressing
theirperceptionsaboutthesocialissuesembeddedintheartworkpresented.
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EFLStudents’PerceptionsofSocialIssuesinFamousWorksofArt
Theconversationclubisaspacewherestudentscanpracticespeakinginordertoimprove
theirlanguageskillssuchasspeakingandlistening,gainfluency,havedirectcontactwiththe
culture,andshareexperienceswithanotherpersoninthetargetlanguage,inthiscaseEnglish;
however, this study focuses on the ideas the students had to share. This strategy was
implemented so the teacher-researchers could present famous works of art in posters for
discussion.Wegaveasynopsisoftheworkofartandthenaskedforstudents’impressions.
Participantsinthisstudyengagedinthepracticeofcriticalthinkingasastrategytoappreciate
artthatexpressedsocialissues.
First, students proposed their ideas in an environment where they could be free to say
anythingtheyfeltorthought.Secondly,studentsanalyzedtheworksofartaswellascriticized
them,sotheycouldcontributetotheconversationclubanddiscernmeaningfulinformationand
createtheirperspectives.Finally,studentsarguedtheirpointsofviewandsupportedtheminreal
contexts with the purpose of constructing useful interactions and worthwhile practices. The
interactionswereinSpanishmostofthetimeandtherewasaswitchcodefrombothteachersand
studentsduetotheproficiencyintheforeignlanguage.Thisinteractioninthemothertonguedid
notrepresentadifficultyforourstudybecauseweaimedtounderstandperceptionsandthoughts
nottoseekameaningfulimprovementintheforeignlanguageperformance.1
We were guided by the critical approach throughout this study. Arts appreciation is a
product of communicative interactions and of understanding what information students
wanttotransmit.Thecriticalapproach,inourcase,consistsofappreciatingaworkofartnot
onlyfortheimageitselfbutalsoforwhatitrepresents.
DataAnalysis
Wefocusedourattentiononpatternsandcommonalitiesfoundamongstudents’written
reflections and journals that enabled us to confront participants’ ideas, opinions, and
perspectives. We reviewed the data to categorize the information, considering the
phenomenon,problem,andresearchquestionofthisstudy(seeAppendix2)fromwhichthe
category and subcategory emerged. The category is called Social Perceptions Framed in a
HumanisticViewofArtsbecausewesawtheopinionsstudentshadabouttheartisticproduct
critiqued during sessions about social issues. The sub-category is called Influence of Arts
Involving Social Issues because we discovered that the participants expressed their thoughts
1 InourperspectivetheEnglishclassesshouldimprovetheskillsofthestudents;however,thereshouldbeaspace
toexplorepossibilitiesandlearnaboutculture,forlanguagesarethewindowtounderstandingsociety.TheArts
isonlyamotivationaltooltoapproachthebroadworldthatcanbestudiedbyinvitingpeopletoseedifferent
perspectivesthroughlanguages.
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aboutthesocialmanifestationstheyfoundintheartwork,understandingthattheworksofart
arecommunicativeandexpressiveobjectsthatcausedimpressions(Jensen,2001).
Social Perceptions Framed in a Humanistic View of Arts
Whileansweringtheinterviewduringthefirstsessionwewitnessedthewayparticipants
feltinaninitialstagetowardsarts,criticism,andEnglish;periodicallyweobservedchangesin
thesethreeaspects.
An example of a perception from participants was self-recognition, as Facione (2011)
established;theindividualshaveaninnerprocesstoseethemselvesaspartofsocietywhile
theymonitortheirthoughts.Wesawthisasparticipantsrecognizedthemselvesasactorsin
similarsituationsasthosepresentedintheworksofart.Violencewastheconstantsocialissue
we saw. Participants shared their thoughts regarding this issue using pre-established
knowledgeandassociateditwiththeworksofart.
The participants of our study placed special emphasis on child abuse and children as
victims of conflicts. In Excerpt 1, the participant expressed the children’s desire for
happiness;however,hetalksaboutchildabuseasabarrier.Callingitaharmfulobstacleto
happiness,heportrayshowdifficultisforachildtoovercomeasituationinwhichheorsheis
avictimofabuseand,consequently,loseshisorherinnocence(Cole,2011).
Excerpt1
Inthe“painting”thatImadeItriedtorepresentachildontheroadto“happiness”butitisblocked
bychildabusethatIwantedtorepresentasalotofpikessurroundingabow,that’swhysheis
crying.Iwantedtorepresentitinthesimplestwaytomakeitlookmadebyachild.2(Student’s
writtenreflections)
For instance, in Excerpt 2 the participant considers that adults are unconscious of the
damage they cause to children because of certain decisions they make. She reflects on the
future of a country where children are abused or orphaned because they lose parents (for
example,intheColombianarmedconflict).Additionallysheconcludesthattheappropriate
managementforthismatteristoeducatechildren.
Excerpt2
Grown-upsoftenthinkaboutthemandblahblahblah,butfromallthestupiditiestheydothey
don’tnoticethatthechildrenaretheonesthatsuffertheconsequences.
Besides,iftheirparentsdieandtheyloseitall,whatwillbeofthem?
2 ExcerptshavebeentranslatedfromSpanishforpublicationpurposes.
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It supposes that they are like the future and what it has to be done is educate them and not
traumatizethem.(Student’swrittenreflections)
In Excerpt 3 the participant expressed emotions through colors. He portrayed
homosexualityasarainbowanddiscriminationasasituationthatsomeonewithadifferent
sexual orientation must live with. The participants recognize the repercussions of mauling
someoneelsebecauseofintoleranceofdifferences(Avivi,2006).
Excerpt3
The best session, I believe because it allowed me for a moment to show the role that a
discriminatedpersonplaysbutthatbeforehimaretherainbow’scolorsbetterrepresentedasthe
bipolarity.(Student’swrittenreflections)
Additionally, the participants expressed their thoughts regarding discrimination as it is
illustratedinExcerpt4,whichcamefromthejournalwhereweevidencedfeaturesfromthe
participants’opinionstowardsspecificartisticcreations.
Excerpt4
The students discussed discrimination as an important problem of society. They mentioned
differenttypesofdiscriminationsuchasdiscriminationbyrace,sexualorientation,andphysical
appearance.Theygaveconcreteexamples.Forinstanceonestudentseemedparticularlyoffended
bypeoplewhomadefunofoverweightorgaypeople.(Journal)
During the data analysis we were able to see participants’ personal features, such as
politicalpositionsorreligiousbeliefs.Thewordsbadandgoodentitledthemodeinwhich
students represented their insights. The data showed that in reality students think, for
example,thatiftheydotheirhomeworktheyaregoodpeople,butiftheydonotsharetheir
parents’positionsoropinionstheyarebadpeople.
In Excerpt 5, the participant tried to ascertain the intention of her partners when she
sculptedsomethingregardingthetopicoflifeanddeath.Weseethereligiousconceptionthe
participantshadaboutthistopic.Inherinterpretationweseetheperceptionshehastowards
deathandhumanbehavior;shementionsheavenandhellasthetwopossiblepathspeople
followaftertheypassaway.Thisisaconceptionshehasfromherreligiouseducationbecause
shebelongstoaChristiancommunityandexpressedherideasupportingherselfontheBible
andthespeechesatthechurchsheattends.Itisthedualitybetweengoodandbadbehavior.
Excerpt5
PersonallyIthink,ParticipantNtriedtorepresentthelineoflifewhenitreachestheend,then
therearetwowaystoheavenwithwhitelines,andthehellwithbrownlinesthatrepresentsthe
earth.Crosstotheheavenandinvertedcrosstothehell(red).(Student’swrittenreflections)
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In this topic we noticed that not all participants belonged to a religious community
anddidnotsharethesamefaith.AnexampleofthisishowinExcerpt6theparticipant
shows her opposition towards religion. She sees the cross as something negative in
contrast to the perceptions of other people who believe that it is a symbol that draws
peopleneartoGod.
Excerpt6
TheCrossmeansthereligion,itisintheforbiddensignbecauseIthinkthatitisbadbutfortherest
ofpeopleitisnot,itisgoodbecauseitmakesusclosertoGod.(Student’swrittenreflections)
Additionally, as we found in our notes from the journal (Excerpt 7), participants had
variousopinionsaboutreligion.Thiswasexpressedintheirinterpretationofartsrelatedto
Christian icons and symbolism (Layton, 2003). Participants also manifested hate or love
towards their religious beliefs, all portrayed in their own creations about life and death,
inasmuchastheyrelatethosetwotopicswithspirituality.Theparticipantsdiscussedaspects
ofColombiansocietysuchastraditionsandbehaviors.
Excerpt7
Thestudentsfeeldifferentlyaboutreligion,namely,someofthemclaimtobelongtoaparticular
church,whileothers saytheydislikechurches.Theyexpressedthat theybelieveinGod while
otherssaidtheydidnotbelieveinthatreligiousfigure.(Journal)
Forinstance,inExcerpt8theparticipantperceivedtherelationshipthatadifficultlifehad
on a painting. She recognized that through art someone might capture pain and sadness;
whenshesaidthatthepaintingswerecoldshereferredtothesensationthecolorsandimages
transmitted.Theartist’ssorrowleftanimpressiononherbothvisuallyandemotionally.In
addition,theartist’sexperiencesservedasareflectionofageneralviewofhumanbehavior;
shetookthepositionoftheartistandthoughtabouthowshecouldliveinasimilarsituation,
thinking about what would be appropriate or good, and considering the commonly held
conceptionaboutthatspecificissue.
Excerpt8
AboutFridaKahlo’sliveandherhusbandDiegoRivera,thatshehadasadandtraumaticlive.That
inartshecouldexpressherpain,thatalthoughherhusbandcheatedonher,shewasimportantto
him,andifyoupaybackinkindyouwillnotwinanything,andthatshewassuchagoodperson
becausesheforgavehim.Herartisticworkswerecold,etc.(Student’swrittenreflections)
Anotherissuethatwasdiscussedwastheeconomy.Duringthefirstsessionweanalyzeda
painting about the drug trafficker Pablo Escobar which allowed us to think about the
repercussionsillegalcommercemightbringtoanation,eitherpositiveornegative.
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