Andrew Armitage and Diane Keeble-Ramsay
UFHRD Honorarium
Developing an Arts Based Curriculum for HRD Practice
End of Project Report
The goals and value of the research
Human Resource and Development (HRD) literature is beginning to witness a growing interest in critical perspectives of practice based pedagogy (Rigg, Stewart and Trehan, 2007). As such, the challenge for HRD educators is one that requires them to adopt a “critical attitude” to challenge modernist orthodoxy (Reynolds and Vince, 2004; Fenwick, 2005; Anderson and Thorpe, 2007) and to uphold individual values and emancipatory practices in the workplace (Alvesson and Deetz, 2000; Brookfield, 2005, Armitage, 2011). In response to the foregoing, this study addressed how HRD professionals experience and perceive their working lives and deal with the emotional aspects through the lens of art based interventions (ABIs). This was achieved using poem houses, poetry, drawings, paintings, narrative fiction and the use of dialogue groups founded upon the critical pedagogy of Paulo Freire to conceptualise their organisations. Therefore, the value of this research was threefold. First, to explore HRD professionals’ experiences of contemporary organisation life using art based methods to unlock their hidden realities and any silent cultures within their organisations (see, for example, Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2010, Armitage 2011 and 2012). Second, to propose a pedagogical approach of HRD curriculum and its delivery using ABIs as a way to engage professionals differently with their organisational lives so to better understand how they may respond more critically to their daily situations, problems and dilemmas in the workplace. Third, to highlight the implications and considerations for HRD classroom practice in the adoption of ABIs.
Methodology
Data was collected from thirty six PG Dip Human Resource Management (HRM) practitioners who were working towards the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development (CIPD) qualification. They worked for a variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), and large multi-national organisations. Participant students were introduced to the task and fully briefed about what they were being asked to take part in, and were asked to address the following question: How do you perceive your organisation? They were presented with an array of art based materials, for example, coloured tissue paper, paints, coloured crayons, coloured card and paper, and a selection of boxes, some of which could be unfolded in order to allow their insides to be “decorated” as they saw fit to describe and portray their organisation. No further prompting was given in terms of what they should produce or how it should be produced in responding to the question. They were also asked to write 200-300 words to describe their art based work, this being an aide memoir to assist us when reporting back their art work.We (the facilitators) left them to their “own devices”, the only intervention we made was to periodically ask each of them what they were constructing and/or writing on their art work, and to take photographs of “the process in action”.
Participants were then invited to present their art work in dialogue groups of 3-4 participants to their peers. The task was concluded with a group feedback session, where students discussed their art works in an open and supportive culture (see, for example, Kearney and Hyle, 2003). Throughout this process we were aware of our “power position” as facilitators, this entailed that we had to take in to account an ethical dimension that was transparent during the study. Ethical approval had been sought from our institution to carry out the research in advance. Further we gave each participant a Participant Information Sheet and a Participant Consent Form to complete. We made it clear at the inception of the study that they were free to withdraw from at any time. We also clarified that we would not intervene in the production of their ABIs or their peer group discussions; our role was to “merely” record and report their artefact based evidence and discussions.
Key findings
ABIs can be a means to develop an individual’s capacity to evaluate the roles in their organisation and can be a catalyst and trigger to develop critical thinking through the transformational artistic process. As one student participant noted “exploring my organisation using this this approach is unique and therapeutic”. Furthermore this research activity enabled participants to undergo an art based experience process that involved and engaged them rationally and emotionally. Direct participation and involvement in an arts based experience encouraged learning through a trial-and-error process, creating a safe environment in which to explore ideas and feelings and personal issues. ABIs create a mental space (and time) for participants to undergo an experience that encourages them to evoke and express their emotions and creative “energies”. One participant noted, “this is something that we can use in my organisation to explore how people think and feel about our organisation”.
ABIs require intuitive thinking, emotional arousal, aesthetic understanding, social intelligence and more generally, creative capabilities, such as imagination, improvisation, perception, empathy and flexibility. This was evident in the way participants interpreted their work and in some cases their poems. It was observed that ABI’s when used in conjunction with dialogue groups, participants unpacked and revealed the “silence” of their organisational life. The dynamics of dialogue groups helped them to share their perspectives, express their opinions and interpretations in a safe environment where their individual voices could be heard.
It was found that in a dialogic community, participants preserved their uniqueness and sense of self. Also they felt courage enough to “bare their souls” to others. Thus the engagement of self and other introduces into dialogue by its very act a means of sensemaking, whereby identity and identification is central to people and the way context shapes how they interpret events. Thus ABIs afforded a space of intellectual freedom that that was devoid of preconceived ideas and “text book” theories to drive a particular way of thinking. This was achieved by using a task that allowed them to explore what at first appeared to be a simple unstructured question i.e. how do you perceive your organisation?
As tutors and facilitators, we observed how those who pre-suppose their artistic skills are limited overcame their fears to produce art work that they were confident to show to others in their dialogue groups. Once participants realised this was not an art class but rather a means to explore their organisation through art, their initial resistance to think through a “different leans” was overcome. This was also true of the question they we asked to explore. Some participants initially wanted more direction, as they would expect in a “normal” tutor led class activity. They were perplexed by the task at first. As one said “I can’t see the point of this activity – I can’t see what it is achieving, it has no direction”. After it was explained that having no direction was the whole point of the question and rather this was about their experiences of the their organisation, and not about any pre-set learning outcome, they decide to “have a go” at the task.
We were surprised and encouraged as facilitators of this study that all participants (with the exception of the example noted) “took control of the question”. It was also observed that with a group of new students the use of ABIs provides a good ice breaker activity. It also gave us insights into their organisational problems and issues, which we could call upon in other modules we were to teach them. It was also noticeable throughout, that whilst a variety of ABIs outputs were produced, all with exception of one gravitated on very similar issues i.e. organisational dysfunctionalism, stress, fear, lack of recognition, lack of communication, and a “them-and-us” management-employee relationship. Thus many felt that they were not working in what they perceived as a “happy” environment.
A Road Map for Classroom Practice
Whilst the study we conducted was based upon a relatively small number of HRD professionals, we nevertheless propose the following road map for a novel pedagogical approach for classroom practitioners. We offer the following five step process based on the observations emanating from this study for those intending to use ABIs as part of their pedagogical practice:
Step 1: Learning to dialogue
This requires students to participate in dialogue groups that are based on the principles of Freire’s (1970) dialogical process (see, for example, Armitage, 2011). Small groups of no more than four participants are formed. This allows each participant to have a “voice”. This means also that they all take part in the discussions and that there is no “place to hide” as might be the case in a larger group setting. Students are informed that the dialogical process they are about to engage with is a “safe place”, where they can articulate their views and opinions and that we as facilitators will not interfere with their discussions and analysis of their ABIs. They own their discussions and subsequent reflections.
Step 2: Setting the scene
Scene setting is provided through the explanation of how ABIs can contribute to, and lead to, an alternative way to understand organisational life. As facilitators we asked them to think individually about and note, any critical workplace events that see as significant, the context of where it occurred, what are the feelings or emotions they experience eg joy, happiness, motivation, anxiety, fear, frustration, sadness, or disgust. We allowed about twenty minutes for this initial activity before they embarked upon their ABIs.
Step 3: Raising self-awareness
Having allowed each individual group member to create their ABIs and make notes, they then joined each other in dialogue groups to share their thoughts about their emotional responses concerning the contents of their art works. This step took between 60-90 minutes to complete. This was dependent upon the types of issues discussed and the depth of analysis given to their ABIs. Sharing their feelings within what Zander and Zander (2000, p.174-175) call ‘places of possibility’. This is where ‘We come to trust that these places are dedicated to the notion that no one will be made wrong, people will not be talked about behind their backs, and there will be no division between us and them. Montero (2000:134) notes “This allows individuals to problematize their lived reality within their dialogue groups” (what Freire called “reading circles”) and facilitates a self-directed learning process, free of outside invention. This fosters within students a sense of being “in control” of where they want to take the discussion, thus raising their self-awareness not only of their emotional response to the contents of their ABIs, but also their working environment.
Step 4: Problem resolution
Each group is then asked to provide a response and/or resolution to the issues raised in the ABIs they have been discussing. For example, how might they approach a toxic leader? How would they deal with those who are subjected to bullying in the workplace? How might they deal with consequences and aftermath of a “them and us” leadership style? What type of HRD intervention would they put in place? How can they build upon positive emotions?
Step 5: Bringing it all together
The findings from Step 4 are discussed in an open class forum. Each group presents the outcomes of their discussions, analysis, and problem resolution. We, as facilitators, also take part in this activity by providing our perspective of their ABIs and the emotional responses we identified with. We then, as a class, list a set of words that have been described in their working environment. Typical words that are often given are inclusiveness, respect, dignity, sharing, caring, love, supportive, and listening; these form the basis of further discussions in the following weekly class sessions.
Implications and considerations for practice
ABIs within the context of HRD curriculum delivery are still novel and rarely used. We would argue that if we are to tap into the latent potential of employees then those working in the HRD profession are best placed to enact change. Whilst we have indicated this is relatively small study, we nevertheless advocate the use of ABIs as means need for a radical change in how senior HRD practitioners evaluate organisational barriers and go beyond instrumental learning and development training programmes, being couched within performance outcome based metrics. We therefore present, based on our experiences here and elsewhere (see, for example, Armitage and Keeble-Allen, 2010, Armitage, 2013; 2014) some implications and considerations for HRD classroom practice.
Sharing experience
In order to deliver transformative change programmes that ‘first put in place initiatives to rewrite their context in a way that overcomes the obstacles to enable desired change’ (Balogun and Hailey, 2014:7) we advocate a re-writing of organisational internal environments is needed. This however rests on the premise that if management are to embrace ABIs, management must first respect their role as being central to people focussed development and management. This we believe can only be achieved if those, the upcoming generations of HRD professionals, are exposed to innovative ways of confronting organisational reality with their “own eyes” – as a form of critical HRD education (CHRDE).
It is only when an individual first experiences the process of creativity and the images that it produces can it then be internalised and embraced by them that ABIs can be viewed by them as a means to design and deliver such interventions in their own organisations. This requires that the adoption of ABIs requires, as a precondition, the recognition that an organisation is a techno-human system in which people have a central role.
ABIs are aimed at enhancing the quality of organisational life, and at celebrating and developing people’s nature and abilities, and ‘If ABIs are not aligned with this understanding and are adopted as a way to manipulate people’s experiences, they could not only end in failure, but – even worse – they could undermine the spirit and image of an organisation’ (Schiuma, 2011:242-243).
The need for management commitment
We argue that, like any other type of organisational initiative, ABIs require management commitment and a change in “cultural paradigm” to a more transformative way of working, where there is an alignment of strategy and culture. As Schiuma (2011:243) notes ABIs ‘are aimed at sparking and supporting organisational transformation’ that entails that management has to adopt more innovative ways of addressing operational and strategic issues, and to ‘identify a new and supportive and goal-consistent culture in beliefs and behaviours’ (Balogun and Hailey, 2014:7). We argue that the HRD professional is best placed to ensure that ABIs are not used in isolated cases to address operational or business issues where they are unlikely to have any strategic significance. Further to recognise that where organisations do not embrace the creative potential of individuals or have a capacity to impact upon an organisation in a suitable way for ‘the enhancement of organisational value-creation’ (Schiuma, 2011:243) ABIs have limited value.
It must therefore be acknowledged that clear definitions of business and organisational problems must be clearly set out. Whilst this study reported here set a single generic question to stimulate the “creative spirit” as a means to open the “vistas of possibility” for participant HRM student professionals, we are nonetheless cognisant of the wider utility that ABIs can have for more directive and organisational and business strategic issues. If ABIs are used within curriculum design and delivery these could be directed at specific HRM/D issues in specific units (modules) of learning, as typically is the case for those studying CIPD professional qualifications.
This we believe might be the catalyst for those exposed to this type of organisational learning to adapt their classroom experiences through ABIs and to translate these into real life organisational contexts for value creation, problem solving, and personal enhancement of individuals’ creative potentials. As Schiuma (2011:243) notes ‘Those initiatives that are implemented as “something nice to have” or “something to try because it is different and unconventional” do not produce a sustainable impact and, even worse, can have detrimental effect on the organisation’.
A repositioning of the HRD professional training
If professional bodies, for example, the CIPD recognise that their professional qualifications represent a vehicle for changing the nature of sustainable work practice through senior strategic positions in organisations, then perhaps a radical repositioning of what the HRD professional is needs re-thinking. In line with current writings around CHRDE, we advocate that in order to be change agents “on the ground” those rising through the HRD ranks should be re-defined as “human value creators”. These are what Schiuma (2011:244) calls art architects who play ‘a crucial role in making sure that ABIs address business issues and drive the development of organisational value-creation capacity’. Armitage (2012 and 2014) has illustrated how ABIs can work, and our findings presented here further confirm this to be the case, concurring with other advocates of this approach (see, for example, Zander and Zander, 2002; Darsø, 2009).