Wes Akers

After writing my first critique, I went back to the Auraria Library website to continue researching. I continued to use the search terms “middle school” and “public art,” but this time I added the word “identity.” I noticed two articles that remained in the list of results after including the additional search term. For my second critique, I decided to read and write about the peer reviewed article “Becoming Somebody! How Arts Programs Support Positive Identity for Middle School Girls” by Debra L. Holloway from the Wyoming State Department and Margaret D. LeCompte from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

I selected this article because it is focused on how carefully designed arts education programs impact adolescent females’ identity development, specifically their confidence. My group is interested in how the arts impact identity development and I’m most interested in adolescent student identity. The article provides an in-depth exploration of factors negatively and positively impacting adolescent girls’ identity. Holloway and LeCompte (2001) establish their claims on past studies’ findings on adolescent female identity development and it’s recommended to check out their references. The studies they introduce helped me further my understanding and build background knowledge of female identity development.

Holloway and LeCompte (2001) do not ask specific questions like we have designed for our action research projects. Instead, the objectives of their research are based on proving the claim that arts education positively impacts female identity development because it allows “children to imagine themselves out of their current identities and to try on new ways of being” (Holloway and LeCompte, 2001). They hope to address the crisis of confidence researchers have found many adolescent girls face.

To support their claim and objective, Holloway and LeCompte (2001), designed an intervention program title Arts Focus (AF) that provides girls opportunities to simulate different ways of being by exploring different mediums. The program was designed using past researchers’ findings, especially Carol Gilligan and American Association of University Women. Holloway and LeCompte (2001) believe there is a connection between a lack of curriculum designed around female development and the crisis of confidence among adolescent girls. AF was designed to bridge that gap by creating a variety of classes based on different arts strands including literary, theatre and dance, music, and visual arts.

It is helpful for me to observe how Holloway and LeCompte (2001) conceptualized their research into a tangible program that addresses a complex problem. In my first read, I questioned whether this article is an example of action research because they weren’t asking questions and they themselves were not stakeholders at the school until beginning their program. But upon reflection, I believe this article exemplifies the action and institutional change that is intended as a result of action research.

Further evidence of action research can be observed in the data collection methods. Holloway and LeCompte (2001) approached their data collection and analysis from a qualitative approach. They began by creating anecdotal records of informal conversations they had with students and teachers in the AF program. From those conversations and notes, Holloway and LeCompte (2001) identified specific students and teachers to participate in formal interviews over the course of three school years. From those interviews, three trends surfaced around combating the crisis of confidence, which the girls called their artist’s tool kit.
1. Centering
2. Open-mindedness
3. Self-expression
The girls felt this toolkit allowed them to “transform how they thought about themselves and their future” (Holloway and LeCompte, 2001).

In addition to interviews, they observed all AF classes and teachers to identify teaching practicing most effective for allowing students to experiment with different identities. They highlight three common characteristics of the classrooms they considered most effective.
1. Students have to make important decisions.
2. Students are responsible for using their imagination.
3. Students must participate in activities involving risk-taking in a variety of forms.

For my project, I will need to take a similar approach to observing and identifying trends that emerge from student responses. It is helpful to observe how Holloway and LeCompte (2001) synthesized their anecdotal records, interviews, and observations into specific trends. Additionally, my group members and I are planning to find the common themes we observe across our different communities.

Holloway, D. L., & Lecompte, M. D. (2001). Becoming Somebody!: How Arts Programs Support Positive Identity for Middle School Girls. Education And Urban Society, 33(4), 388–408.