Creative Interventions: Integrating Arts-Based Approaches in a University Access Programme

Abstract

This article is based on my master’s degree study at the University of Johannesburg that evaluates the impact of utilising arts-based approaches in the Workplace Preparation (WPP) module curriculum. The study demonstrates that when integrated into teaching and learning, arts-based approaches expand the capability of the curriculum to achieve more equitable and accessible participation. I use an action research approach in the study to investigate how creativity and arts-based practices might instil experiences of empowerment and agency in students in the classroom. I draw from literature to gain multiple critical perspectives in order to frame and demonstrate arts-based approaches to teaching and learning that embrace alternative ways of knowing, communicating and interacting. The findings suggest that culturally relevant arts-based approaches play a legitimate and vital role in expanding the pedagogic space in order to foster embodied learning opportunities that acknowledge and include non-linear, somatic, visceral, emotional and symbolic dimensions. Arts-based methods advance transformative agendas and support learning in the current higher education (extended programme) context. The study involves an actionable intervention that uses arts-based methods to present the Workplace Preparation module. Arts-based activities and lesson plans are devised for integration into the existing formal programme and can be used and adapted as a resource for lecturers in the Workplace Preparation Department.