ABER practitioners research and communicate using various arts-based methods and methodologies, including autobiography, narrative, poetry, visual arts, drama, dance, music, and performance. The rapidly growing body of ABER literature and practitioner knowledge directly addresses art concepts as research, the nature of knowing and learning aesthetically, and the processes of making and using art for generating and communicating learning and knowledge.

The ABER SIG provides a forum for theorists and practitioners in the arts, education, and other fields to discuss, share, and reflect on illuminating and problematic arts-based research practices and outcomes. It also serves as a focal point for other parties and individuals interested in ABER who have not yet ventured into this domain. It welcomes and encourages transdisciplinary knowledge creation in business and policy studies, the social sciences and the humanities. This SIG examines arts and social science research genres and their similarities and differences. It advocates for using arts-based methods of disseminating educational and human science research. It recognises ABER as an inclusive, democratic, participatory ethical inquiry.

Research interests:

• Promoting inclusion in arts education practice and access to arts education.
• Providing a forum for teacher-researchers within the arts to share practice and to contribute to the culture and community of arts education research.
• Promoting the value of arts education and its impact on wellbeing and development by sharing high-quality research from our diverse membership.
• Encouraging educational researchers and practitioners who are not involved in arts education to explore how the arts can inspire innovative research and teaching across fields, disciplines, and contexts.

SIG aims:

Issues of funding in arts education and devaluing arts education are live and urgent issues for the SIG membership to discuss. Our professional livelihoods and those of colleagues in arts education settings are being threatened. New research and sharing of practice show the importance of creative education driven by arts teachers in the recent pandemic to support positive mental health in all children and adults. We want to create a platform to support the dissemination of this work and develop a supportive research environment for teacher-researchers in the arts.

The SIG also encourages researchers who may consider themselves “non-artistic” or “non-creative” to incorporate the arts into their work to add depth and meaning. We want to create welcoming, enjoyable, and inspiring arts-based experiences to boost initiative, creative self-belief, and learning and expression. We are committed to exploring how the arts can engender innovative research and teaching across fields, disciplines, and contexts. And we are interested in how the SIG can advance arts-based educational research by engaging with creative ideas and work globally, recognising the contributions of various knowledges and points of view, and addressing social justice issues such as inclusion and decolonisation.

BERA Arts Based Educational Research Forum