International Journal of Education & the Arts

Citation: Kang, R., Mehranian, Y., & Hyatt, C. (2017). Incorporating an image-based, multimodel pedagogy into global citizenship education. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 18(23). Retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v18n23/

Drawing on theories and practices in literacy education and in particular, the concepts of semiotics and transmediation, we explored the possibility of arts-based experiences such as Augusto Boal’s Image Theatre in facilitating transformation of thinking in the context of global citizenship education. The objectives of this research were twofold. The first was to concretize the notion of an image-based, multimodal pedagogy into a practice-based instructional model, while the second was to provide case-study examples of how our pedagogy was enacted in two undergraduate-level courses with a global focus. We adopted a participatory-action research design and analyzed data using a grounded theory approach. The data sources for this research included videotaped performing sessions, observation notes, written reflections, end-of-course surveys, photos, artwork, and other student constructed artifact. The results indicate that Image Theatre and arts-based experiences can expand and deepen student thinking on issues of global citizenship. Implications for pedagogy include increasing the use of arts and theatre for class interactions on traditional readings and themes.