American youth who participate in both school-based and community-based programs during high school remain more civically engaged than their contemporaries throughout adulthood. However, few studies have examined the developmental processes through which participation in a youth directed program promotes civic responsibility. In this qualitative…

This article is based on ethnographic work with two "crews" of young graffiti artists in southern Mexico City. The crews share certain characteristics with gangs or urban tribes, but more with "communities of practice": they live in the "figured world" of graffiti, a community of practice at the local and global…

This essay focuses of an arts-informed inquiry performed by sixteen pre-service teachers who created sculptures to explore their teaching philosophies. Through this creative process changes occurred in their assumptions and expectations about what is of value in teaching and relationships between themselves, their students, and the community. The…

This article introduces the art of three-dimensional modelling. Three-dimensional modelling is gaining acceptance as a new medium for self-expression. Students must first master the software programs, learn the tools and functions, the menu choices and settings, and use them to create realistic objects. (Contains 4 online resources.)

It is important to find the means by which struggling writers can find success in the English Language Arts. For students struggling with reading and writing, the visual arts may be a way of accessing and expressing their ideas and ultimately opening up a world of creative possibilities. This article explores drawing and painting as a pre-writing…

In this article, the author shares his reflections on rereading Erving Goffman's book titled "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life." "The Presentation of Self," first published in 1959, was Goffman's first book. Goffman describes the work as "a sort of handbook" and, alternatively, as a "report." His own PhD on the Shetland Islands is quite…

This article reports on a digital ethnography that examines writing, authorship, and self-publication in an online niche market. Drawing on interview and web data collected over 3 years, it focuses on the writing practices that have supported the production, distribution, and sanction of 13 ebooks self-published by online poker players. The…

In this article, the author presents an activity she introduced to her first-grade art students. The activity, called Rootin' Tootin' Cowpokes, was built on a theme while encouraging students to express themselves through various art media. Each student began by creating his or her own wanted poster, choosing an alter ego with a nickname, and the…

Web 2.0 technologies are online tools that allow users to share, collaborate and interact with one another. This small-scale project focused on young people's personal use of social media, and on the potential to use these tools to collect the views of young people and involve them in democracy in communities and local authorities. The main…

Data gathered by the United Nations show that in modern warfare civilians make up the majority of casualties, most of them are children and women. Children affected by war can experience both physical and psychological problems. This can damage their own sense of purpose and identity which can lead to difficulties in the way they see and relate to…

Seven spiritual identities are determined based on a study conducted on a group of 125 participants. The objective of the study was to examine (a) how spirituality is experienced individually and collectively; and (b) identify the commonalities and differences in spiritual experiences. The participants ranged in age from 17 to over 55, and were…

This action research study explores the meaning-making process using forms of creative expression for eight women with insulin-dependent diabetes. The study is theoretically informed by arts-based ways of knowing and aspects of feminist poststructuralism, and explains the process of creativity used in the action research process. The findings…

David E. Kirkland turns our attention to the ways tattoos can represent "human" stories of literacy through the power of inked flesh, the self-portrait it creates, and the words and worlds that surround the body. The body, for Kirkland, is an important site of cultural production that represents the transformative, political, and personal terrains…

Research has shown that English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in Taiwan fall into two peaks of the curve. This is to say, learners can be classified into two major groups: those who perform quite well on standardized tests, such as college entrance examinations, and those who perform poorly. From a socioeconomic perspective, the correlation…

Photography can be an exciting way to integrate art and creativity into social studies. Photography allows students to use creative self-expression in revealing the symbolism in historic places, people, or scenes with a richness that words alone often cannot accomplish. In this article, the authors provide several ideas for creating photo essays.…