In this blog post I explore new methods for understanding creative learning experiences in higher education.

My research focuses on how creative art forms, including design and performing arts, can help facilitate learning in higher education, especially in disciplines which would normally rely on traditional written assignments. To investigate experiences of creativity, I initially considered a conventional qualitative research design, with semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of data. However, at an early stage of reviewing the literature, I came across an interdisciplinary case study (Chappell et al., 2019) which transformed my thinking. The authors draw on theories from new materialism, including Barad’s ‘agential realism’ (2007), to grapple with notions of creativity and materiality in new ways. What struck me most was their ability to consider the material world within the same philosophical framework as abstract ideas, or in Barad’s terms, the ‘intra-action’ between material phenomena and discursive practices in ‘a dynamic and shifting entanglement’ (Barad, 2007, p. 224). Somehow, this resonated with the idea that material artwork and performance can be entangled with the discursive practices of academic study, and so I decided to explore further.

However, in the subsequent search for suitable methods, it became clear that a new materialist approach requires a significant departure from, even rejection of, the conventions of qualitative research. In postqualitative inquiry, familiar notions such as observation, data, validity, even methodology itself, are problematic (St Pierre, 2021). In their explanation of new materialism and research methodology, Fox and Alldred (2022) point to Deleuze and Guattari’s alternative to traditional scientific observation. They explain that this form of science does not observe the flow of a river from the river bank, but instead ‘takes to a boat and becomes part of the flow’. This is certainly fascinating, but how to achieve it in practice? One way would be to consider the material elements – for example, for a design-based assignment, the paper, pens, ink and studio space – as part of the ‘flow’ alongside the researcher and participants in the research.

‘In postqualitative inquiry, familiar notions such as observation, data, validity, even methodology itself, are problematic.’

Taguchi and St Pierre (2017) also offer a potential way forward in conceptualising postqualitative inquiry. They present arguments for using philosophical concepts as methods, to achieve innovative forms of inquiry. Barad’s agential realist ‘intra-action’ and ‘entanglement’ are certainly powerful concepts to work with. An example of this in practice would be to trace the intra-actions in a piece of design or performance produced on an interdisciplinary module, to understand how the different participants, their emerging academic ideas, the material elements and the research itself, are ‘entangled’. Indeed, Barad’s agential realism is already being taken up across various disciplines, including education (see for example Murris, 2022). My aim is therefore to experiment with agential realism as the theoretical and methodological framework for my research.

During discussions at the symposium, it was very encouraging to hear colleagues’ perspectives, and share practical experiences of creativity in education. These lively conversations sparked new ideas for further exploration and entanglement. For example, I have since explored the idea of the ‘intraview’ (Kuntz & Presnall, 2012), where participants walk and talk, and how this can be developed in higher education research, instead of more traditional qualitative interviews.

To conclude, although postqualitative inquiry may seem daunting, it can provide a powerful framework for understanding creative experiences of learning in higher education, across various disciplines. Undoubtedly, as I continue along the river of my research, there will be many twists and turns to come, but the ECR Symposium was an invaluable opportunity to make progress in the flow of inquiry.

References

Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the universe halfway: Quantum physics and the entanglement of matter and meaning. Duke University Press.

Chappell, K., Hetherington, L., Keene, H. R., Wren, H., Alexopoulos, A., Ben-Horin, O., Nikolopoulos, K., Robberstad, J., Sotiriou, S., & Bogner, F. X. (2019). Dialogue and materiality/embodiment in science|arts creative pedagogy: Their role and manifestation. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 31, 296–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2018.12.008 

Fox, N. J., & Alldred, P. (2022). New materialism. In P. Atkinson, S. Delamont, A. Cernat, J. W. Sakshaug, & R. A. Williams (Eds.), SAGE Research Methods Foundations. Sage.

Kuntz, A. M., & Presnall, M. M. (2012). Wandering the tactical: From interview to intraview. Qualitative Inquiry, 18(9), 732–744. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800412453016

Murris, K. (2022). Karen Barad as educator: Agential realism and education. Springer Nature Singapore.

St Pierre, E. A. (2021). Why post qualitative inquiry?, Qualitative Inquiry, 27(2), 163–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800420931142

Taguchi, H. L., & St. Pierre, E. A. (2017). Using concept as method in educational and social science inquiry, Qualitative Inquiry, 23(9), 643–648. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800417732634