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Browsing by Subject "constraints"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    Conceptual constraints on creativity: A case study of an undergraduate visual artist
    (2024-04) Karras, Emma
    Constraints are often viewed as potential inhibitors on creative thinking and making. However, current research suggests that there may be enhancing impacts of constraints on creativity. The current paper presents a case study of one undergraduate mixed media artist (the author) across a series of eight artist trials where for four trials the completed artworks were conceptually constrained (that is, based on a topic specified by an external source) and four trials were unconstrained (that is, based on a topic autonomously generated by the artist). Ratings anonymously provided by peers, blinded to the research question, revealed that certain aspects of creativity tied to novelty are heightened in conceptually constrained visual arts outputs (e.g., surprise and playfulness) when compared to unconstrained, which, instead, tended to show heightened harmoniousness and other qualities. This suggests that conceptual constraints on visual artist outputs can increase peer rated creativity defined by novelty and originality
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    A Mixed Methods Investigation of Student Nonparticipation in Secondary School Music
    (2015-07) Hawkinson, Jennifer
    Providing opportunities for students to participate in music as part of a comprehensive education remains a core value of American education. However, the small proportion of school music participants suggests that existing music programs may not be serving all students. The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to investigate those factors and barriers associated with students' decisions not to participate in school music programs, with an emphasis on the experiences of students from underserved populations. This investigation was guided by the expectancy-value and constraint negotiation theories related to activity choice behaviors. Constraint negotiation, from leisure sociology, posits that participation in any activity is the result of successfully navigating constraints, and when constraints become barriers, nonparticipation results. In the first, quantitative phase of the study, data were collected from students in a Midwestern high school (N = 319). Quantitative results indicated seven predictors of school music participation and nonparticipation in a logistic regression model: race/ethnicity, free or reduced lunch status, perceptions and attitudes toward school music, musical task difficulty, and personal perception, conflicting activity, and school music structural constraints. In the second, qualitative phase of the study, an instrumental collective case study (N = 12) was used to examine student nonparticipation. Data were collected through interviews, transcripts, observations of music classes, interviews with music teachers, field notes, and artifacts. Qualitative results revealed five cross-case themes: nonparticipant musicians, choice as a hierarchy of personal values, school music as a closed system, the power of personal perceptions, and a desire for student-centered pedagogy. A connected mixed methods analysis identified areas of convergence and divergence between the quantitative and qualitative data that primarily confirmed the statistical analysis. Based on these results, a preliminary model of school music constraints was developed to explain student experiences with school music. The results suggested that recognizing the barriers to school music participation and implementing student-centered pedagogical practices may assist in the engagement and sustained participation of more students in school music. Further research exploring constraint negotiation is recommended to develop a greater understanding of the experiences of both school music participants and nonparticipants.