Reflective creative partnerships as ‘meddling in the middle’: developing practice

Abstract

This paper explores research-focused reflective creative partnership at the heart of Dance Partners for Creativity (DPC), a qualitative, participatory research project located in secondary school creative partnership initiatives in England. It researched how dance artists and teachers partnered as ‘external’ and ‘school’ partners respectively, to nurture creativity in students aged 11–14. The wider educational context to the research was characterised by tension between striving for excellence harnessed to performativity as characterised by Ball on the one hand, and expanding opportunities for creativity in schools on the other; the two in tension with one another as discussed by the authors of the present article elsewhere. DPC sought to open space between creativity and performativity, enabling partners to co-research and to co-lead learning in the arts. The paper explores emergent practice applying McWilliam’s concept of ‘meddling in the middle’ originally proposed in relation to pedagogy in schools. The paper suggests research-focused partnerships in DPC were characterised by ‘meddling’. It discusses stretches and challenges documented in the study, revealing ways in which partnerships were dynamic and sometimes uncomfortable, whilst offering exciting potential for change. It suggests the retrogressive current policy frame in England may benefit from leaps made possible where partners in creative learning are curiosity-driven ‘meddlers in the middle’: a productive form of reflective practice.

Keywords:

• ‘meddling in the middle’
• co-enquiry
• reflective creative partnership
• creativity
• performativity
• living dialogic space

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the whole DPC team for data collection and analysis on which this paper draws (for full list of project staff see: http://education.exeter.ac.uk/dpc/).The article was developed from ideas first published in a short chapter (Craft, 2011).

Notes

1. Dance Partners for Creativity (DPC) project at the University of Exeter 2008–10, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in England (Ref AH/F010168/1).

2. University-based researchers: Kerry Chappell, Linda Rolfe, Anna Craft, Veronica Jobbins School-focused researchers included: Helen Angove, Sian Goss, Abi Mortimer, Carrie Whitaker, Rachelle Green, Bim Malcomson, Michael Platt, Caroline Wright and Helen Wright.

3. A national programme led by Creativity, Culture and Education from 2008 until 2011 in which 55 schools were selected across England to develop, influence and lead practice in creative teaching and learning.

4. Specialist status conferred by government.

5. A national programme led by Creativity, Culture and Education from 2008 until 2011 in which 55 schools were selected across England to develop, influence and lead practice in creative teaching and learning.