•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Being prepared for the intensity and complexities that educators face in their work means building strategies for managing well-being. This qualitative study explored educators’ conceptualizations about their well-being using an arts-based, community-based participatory research (AB-CBPR) methodology. After a brief mindfulness meditation and contemplation of prompting questions, educators were invited to participate in drawing and writing reflections. The artifacts were coded to determine themes. Themes suggested the importance of human connectedness and interconnection, self care and nurturance, the healing qualities of the natural word, and the recognition that institutions need to provide space and resources to support educator well-being. The mindfulness-based art-as-meditation process was itself a salutogenic process and provided a means for developing a deeper understanding of educator well-being through a community-based participatory research approach.

Keywords

Arts-Based Research, Educator Well-Being, Meditation, Mindfulness

Author Bio(s)

Rachael Crowder is a member of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: rcrowder@ucalgary.ca.

Jennifer Lock is a member of the Werklund School of Education (WSE) at the University of Calgary. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: jvlock@ucalgary.ca.

Evelyn Hickey is a member of the Werklund School of Education (WSE) at the University of Calgary. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: ejhickey@ucalgary.ca.

Mairi McDermott is a member of the Werklund School of Education (WSE) at the University of Calgary. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: mairi.mcdermott@ucalgary.ca.

Marlon Simmons is a member of the Werklund School of Education (WSE) at the University of Calgary. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: simmonsm@ucalgary.ca.

Katrina Wilson is a member of the Werklund School of Education (WSE) at the University of Calgary. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: katrina.wilson@ucalgary.ca.

Rebecca Leong is a member of the Werklund School of Education (WSE) at the University of Calgary. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: rebeccaleong@live.ca.

Noeleen De Silva is a member of the Werklund School of Education (WSE) at the University of Calgary. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: noeleen.desilva@ucalgary.ca.

Acknowledgements

The research team acknowledges that this study was made possible through a University of Calgary Research Grant.

Publication Date

4-5-2020

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4061

Share

 
COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.