Using found poetry to explore creativity in the professional lives of English teachers
Abstract
This arts-based research considers creativity in the professional lives of English teachers in a school in England within the context of a progressively performative education system. In addition, it explores how found poetry can represent participants' voices in an illuminating and authentic manner. The teachers who participated in the study were able to scrutinise, reflect and comment upon the content of poems created from the words found in an initial interview transcript. This recursive process supports a credible way of seeing and knowing the teachers’ voices in a representation that gives a deeper understanding of the participants' creative experiences. The construction, interrogation, and presentation of the found poems reveal that the teachers of English believe they have reduced freedom to be creative or to act with agency in their professional lives. The reduced freedom to be creative stems from the normalising practices of working within a culture of performance. The restrictions are both tangible and self-imposed by the participants.Citation
Matthews, M., Bamber, S., & Jones, L. (2023). Using found poetry to explore creativity in the professional lives of English teachers. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 29(7-8), 739-752. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2023.2201422Publisher
Taylor & FrancisAdditional Links
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13540602.2023.2201422Type
ArticleDescription
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice on 26/04/2023, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2023.2201422ISSN
1354-0602EISSN
1470-1278ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/13540602.2023.2201422
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