You Get to Be Yourself”

Visual Arts Programs, Identity Construction and Learners of English as an Additional Language

Bibliographic Data

ID12762979
AuthorsMeg Wielgosz (Australian Catholic University, corresponding author), Paul Molyneux (0000-0003-3730-5951, The University of Melbourne)
Year2015
Volume14
Issue4
Pages275-289
Publication date2015-07-11
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language Identity & Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1532-7701 • E-ISSN: 1534-8458
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15348458.2015.1070598
OpenAlexW2113017185
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited17

Students learning English as an additional language (EAL) in Australian schools frequently struggle with the cultural and linguistic demands of the classroom while concurrently grappling with issues of identity and belonging. This article reports on an investigation of the role primary school visual arts programs, distinct programs with a specialist teacher, in a designated art room, can play in supporting EAL students’ identity construction and social transition. At six Melbourne primary schools, classroom observations and teacher and student interviews revealed that the visual art programs offer clear possibilities for enhanced and empowered constructions of identity. This article focuses on four students as case studies, highlighting the powerful role visual arts programs, classrooms and teachers can play in EAL learners’ identity construction. On a personal and societal level, identity construction and a positive sense of self are essential in our current era of increased linguistic and cultural pluralism, and this study offers insights into how these inclusive goals can be achieved

Aesthetics · Identity (music · Language arts · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Sociology · The arts · Visual arts · Visual arts education · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Literacy, Media, and Education · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology

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