Art education deals with personal dialogue concerning an individuals’ rela-tion to the self and to the world around by his or her own experience, feelings and making pieces of craft and art. The general aims of art education are to build an ability to find individual ways to experience and face different situa-tions and issues, and to construct self, knowledge, thought and behaviour. In this search the repertory grid tool for in-depth conversation might be useful.
Kelly compares his theory and thoughts to art: “Science has the same central characteristic as art—imagination” (Kelly 1955, 8). He sees the per-son-as-scientist by which he means that individuals seek to predict and con-trol the course of events. He clarifies that: “… we have our own view of the world (our theory), our own expectations of what will happen in given situa-tions (our hypothesis) and that our behaviour is our continual experiment with life”. This entails that people stand for continuous modification and revision of their systems of meaning as they meet with events that challenge
them. That is what learning is about, although Kelly does not capture his theory as a theory of learning as such. However, his point of departure was the simple assumption that learning is based on experience, and that the ex-pectations people have of the world around them are not only a reflection of their experiences but also what they have seen and felt.
Analogous learning means changing views when acquiring new informa-tion in relainforma-tion to previous assumpinforma-tions. Even though a person has had bad experiences in crafts at school, he/she might as a present student teacher see craft as being interesting and motivating. Seeing the preceding issues in a new light or noticing not being so bad in art or craft can change a person’s attitude. As a student teacher from my data in London reports: “… [I was]
nervous at first as I had never really enjoyed art or been confident about it.
The first week really boosted my confidence as I realised you don’t have to be good at art to be a good teacher… [and later on] I don’t feel nervous about my abilities, much more confident. Looking forward to teaching art”.
The repertory grid technique can be seen, as a method of in-depth inter-view or conversation which makes an individual’s implicit thoughts explicit (Karppinen 2009). The method allows the researcher to capture how the indi-vidual conceptualises experiences. This actually implies what is meaningful to the individual self (Bannister & Fransella 1986). The repgrid technique stresses how experiences, feelings and emotions could be dealt with through interaction and guided introspection.
Recently, for example cognitive science, psychology and engineering have realised the usefulness of introspection in research and recognise it as a valid method of investigation. In arts self-reflection as a research method is also gradually gaining more attention and respect. An interesting example of this is Anniina Suominen’s exploration of her own personal growth, identity and visual knowledge/understanding in a culturally diverse context through self-reflective and artistic methods (Suominen 2006). She undertook an art-based, auto-ethnographic study of her own growth in academia and adjust-ment to a foreign culture and social system.
The repertory grid technique gives the facility to have a conversation with oneself or in the presence of another. Particularly the developmental applica-tion of the repertory grid is a dialogue and one in which in most cases the journey matters more than the arrival. In the best cases it could lead to the constructive rebuilding of an individual’s conception, behaviour, or attitude in learning or emotional situations. However, learning requires the capacity for introspection, but people vary in the capacity they have for self-examination.
Conclusion
There is no technique without some weaknesses, and I will mention a few that I have observed. There has been much discussion as to whether it is valid to supply either elements or constructs to the grid. It is essential that elements are representative of the field of investigation, and that elicited or supplied elements are ‘concrete’ as Rayment (2000) also emphasises. The basic nature of the elicited constructs is anchored in selected elements, and the elements are likely to have a profound effect on any constructs elicited. If a procedural grid technique is concern the selected elements must be acceptable and com-prehensible to all respondents.
The technique is time consuming. Usually, an interview takes at least an hour. Also preparations are needed for the interviewer and maybe also the respondents. It is required that an interviewer knows well the structure and aims of the method to be able to avoid leading questions or other misinterpre-tation. Skills in in-depth self-reflection are required of respondent, as well as abilities to identify, verbalise, and discuss his or her own thoughts, feelings and conceptions particularly if a developmental repgrid application is a con-cern. These skills can also be practised beforehand by having preliminary discussions with respondents and practising to make notes on self. Some people are talkative and some not which could be a crucial factor in analysis.
Compared to an open interview or discussion, the repertory grid tool offers a structural basis for conversation and exploration where a repgrid matrix will be created during the interview. It is meaningful when different aspects of an issue are discussed and elicited using the respondents’ own language.
Even though the method has some weaknesses and has gained some criti-cism its usefulness in art and craft education research is noticeable. It does not reveal the treasure, but gives a clear instructive method with a variety of possibilities.
The method proposes for art and craft research a way to explore tacit knowledge or adaptation of expertise. As well, it offers a way to study mean-ingfulness of making art by exploring meaningful factors which affect a per-son’s way of thinking and acting. My interest in using the technique is to find a structural tool to utilise in craft research, as well to find a teaching tool to help student teachers to reveal their tacit power. With critical observations in mind, the repertory grid technique proves to be a valuable contribution to art and craft education research. However, additional methods are suggested to improve the quality of the research.
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