The way of the researcher: integrating artistic self-expression as a reflexive partner in the study of sustainability education

Abstract

This article responds to a call for embodied and reflexive learning practices within and beyond sustainability education. Practices rooted in one’s own artistic forms of expression are proposed to cultivate this type of learning. As an example, a short film and a series of photographic artefacts illustrate how integrating artistic self-expression served as a reflexive partner in a doctoral study on sustainability-oriented education. Stories written as part of a self-reflexive autoethnographic inquiry provide insight into the journey of developing this practice, and how the practice enabled experiences with and as part of the more-than-human to be recognised as supporting the researcher’s own development. Given the urgency of climate issues and the need for meaningful and supportive sustainability-oriented education, we advocate that personal learning should not be sidelined from the professional and institutional processes necessary for sustainability transitions. We propose that fostering embodied and reflexive practices can assist us in this journey and posit artistic self-expression as a meaningful entry-point: for fostering reflexivity, increasing awareness of our own positionality, and cultivating personal reflexive practices that enable us to authentically ‘walk the talk’ in our personal and professional lives.