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Abstract

We are a team of two South African teacher educator researchers at a higher education institution in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Each of us has distinct research niches, and stem from different racial and cultural backgrounds. Our common interest in and commitment to social change through education led to this collaboration where we explored ways of extending the learning we had acquired whilst completing our doctoral research projects. In our doctoral projects we focused on teaching, learning, and our professional responsibilities as South African educators in the HIV and AIDS context to facilitate social change in education. For our current study we asked the question: “What professional learning in the HIV and AIDS context can we (re)construct by stepping back and co-reflecting using arts-inspired approaches?” We used the following data sources: (1) self-chosen exemplars from each researcher’s completed doctoral projects; (2) e-mailed communications as to why we selected the particular exemplars to enhance our professional re-learning in the HIV and AIDS context; (3) individually selected artefacts used as metaphors to explore our research question; and (4) transcriptions of Zoom dialogic meetings where we probed our metaphors and found poems. Our analysis commenced with individually composed found poems using our data sources. These poems were used for poetic interrogation using a co-created Red Ribbon silhouette found poem. Combining all these arts-inspired methods and through co-reflection we could step back and look forward to answer our research question.

Keywords

artefacts arts-inspired methods collaborative self-study poetry social change stepping back

Introduction

As teacher educators teaching at the same higher education institution (HEI) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (SA), we have enjoyed various opportunities to collaborate and co-teach (Van Laren & Mudaly, 2012). Despite having different professional disciplinary expertise and backgrounds we shared research experiences for over a decade. Linda’s disciplinary interest lies in mathematics education and Ronicka’s interest is in science education. However, we have collaborated on numerous occasions and have both been active project research members where we foregrounded issues related to teaching and learning in the context of HIV and AIDS (HIV&AIDS) (Mudaly, et al., 2015; Pithouse-Morgan, et al., 2015; Van Laren, et al., 2013; Van Laren, et al., 2012). Additionally, in our unpublished doctoral theses (Mudaly, 2006; Van Laren, 2008), we explored social issues in education that are related to HIV&AIDS. The value of examining one’s situated teacher self within sociopolitical and historical contexts is a much needed area of scholarly inquiry because it illuminates lived experiences in education (Hayler, 2011).

Not only have we collaboratively researched teaching and learning in the context of HIV&AIDS, we also individually and in collaborative research projects used a variety of arts-inspired research methods. For example, previously we used:

• Digital animation (Pithouse-Morgan, et al., 2015)

• Metaphor drawings (Van Laren, 2008)

• Photovoice (Mudaly, 2006)

• Storyboarding (Van Laren, et al., 2013)

In this article we use arts-inspired methods in our collaborative self-study because of the “inherent freedom for exploration and discovery” possible in self-study and this “elasticity” allowed us to combine a variety of techniques that provided us with opportunities to understand “what we did, why we did it and for whom” (Pithouse-Morgan & Samaras, 2022, p. 219) to improve our professional learning.

We know that it is necessary to ensure that our professional practice is realistic and appropriate to the life experiences of our students. We consider South African social and health experiences to be important, not only for the sake of our preservice and practicing teachers, but also for the learners. If a school or HEI strives to be an integral part of a community then it is imprudent to ignore the social circumstances of learning contexts (Dewey, 1897). The social processes of learning in our lecture rooms thus need to take cognizance of the HIV prevalence in SA. Statistics South Africa (2022) estimated that, in 2021, there were approximately 8.2 million South Africans living with HIV, accounting for an estimated 14 % of South Africans who are currently HIV-positive. However, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal the prevalence rate in women and men (between 15 and 49) is approximately 27% (Human Sciences Research Council, 2018). The health, wealth and societal circumstances, as a result of HIV prevalence, put additional pressures on our South African community, and particularly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. These pressures, in turn, play a role in our professional practice context.

For more than three and a half decades, the HIV pandemic has been seen as a challenging issue by the World Health Organization. In 2022, 3100 adolescent girls and young women became infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa weekly (UNAIDS, 2023). Statistics provided by UNAIDS (2022), estimate that globally, since the recorded onset of the AIDS pandemic, approximately 40,1 million people succumbed to AIDS-related illnesses. Fee and Parry (2008) provide a detailed chronological account of the key role played by Johnathan Mann who, in 1986, became the first director of the global AIDS WHO program that is devoted to AIDS control and prevention. Mann (1987) reports that AIDS can be seen as three associated and global epidemics: First as an epidemic of the AIDS virus (HIV); Second as an epidemic of AIDS-related diseases; and Third as the epidemic of “social, cultural, economic and political reaction to AIDS” (p. 1). Furthermore, Mann (1987, p. 3) explains:

Fear and ignorance about AIDS continue to lead to tragedies: for individuals, families and entire societies. Unfortunately, as anxiety and fear causes some to blame others, AIDS has unveiled the dimly disguised prejudices about race, religion, social class, sex and nationality.

According to Mann (1987), the pervasiveness of HIV, and the associated AIDS diseases, extend beyond the approximated health statistics as the virus, together with these diseases, present communities with dire economic and social issues. The economic issues center on loss and illnesses caused at critical ages when economically productive community members are crucial to a country’s economy.

Furthermore, Mann (1987) points out the importance of HIV&AIDS education as much is already known about the ways in which HIV is transmitted. Mann, et al. (1992) caution that the manner in which HIV&AIDS education takes place often causes anxiety and education may occur without addressing the possible associated fear. Mann, et al. (1992) advocate for a more caring approach to health education where support is provided to overcome the fear of having or contracting HIV.

Despite the cautioning by Mann more than 30 years ago, the social issues associated with HIV&AIDS and the stigmatization of people effected and affected by HIV remain a prime concern. This stigmatization was highlighted in 2022 at the 24^th International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada (Phillips, 2022). Ultimately stigma may be fatal for people who are HIV-positive and stigma may also cause additional spread of HIV. A multi-sectoral, multi-pronged approach which is designed to understand and respond to the needs of different groups of people is required (Moyo, et al., 2023).

Phillips (2022) provides a summary of successful recommendations to reduce HIV-related stigma gleaned from the 2022 AIDS Conference. These include addressing HIV-stigma to provide accurate information about HIV&AIDS and engage in dialogue about HIV-stigma. HEIs are perfectly situated to perform a significant role in working towards eliminating HIV-stigma.

Teacher education institutions, in particular, are afforded opportunities to initiate dialogues and offer accurate knowledge about how HIV is transmitted. From a social justice perspective and living in a democratic society (Hytten & Bettez, 2011), it important for us as South African teacher-educator researchers to extend our own HIV&AIDS education professional learning. We consider ourselves as having the following characteristics “(1) Commitment to the cause; (2) Capacity for complexity; (3) Understanding of culture; (4) Ability to collaborate; (5) Patience and persistence; (6) Confidence in mission; and (7) A long view” (Apple & Beane, 2007, p. 34) to take on improving our professional learning for making a difference in our HIV&AIDS teaching context.

Self-Study Methodology

Although we are both teacher educators in learning areas/subjects that are not specifically within an arts-learning area, we chose to use arts-inspired methods to explore our professional learning through a starting with ourselves approach, because “art integrates self and society” (Goldblatt, 2006, p. 19). Our approach is in line with LaBoskey’s (2004) definition of self-study. First, this reflexive study involves stepping back, evaluating and learning from our previous work and more specifically our own doctoral projects. Our study, then, is improvement aimed. Second, our doctoral projects included engagement with learners and/or preservice teachers and/or colleagues within the HIV&AIDS teaching and learning context. Working as a duo by stepping back we challenged our own as well as each other’s thinking so our study is interactive at various levels. Third, we created and used a variety of arts-inspired qualitative data sources. Fourth, we formalized our collaborative reflexive explorations, using poetic inquiry. Our intention is not solipsistic; instead, we offer our efforts for critical reflection throughout the teacher education professional community.

We realize that knowing how HIV is transmitted is necessary but insufficient in changing attitudes and behaviors. We concur with De Vos (2014) who points out that acquiring knowledge does not necessarily translate to learning. Furthermore, De Vos (2014, p. 1335) notes that an essential part of learning is the commitment to change as well as “taking action, generating results and mobilising others” and he quotes an old New Guinean proverb “knowledge is only rumour, until it is in the muscle”. The sentiment expressed in this proverb not only applies to our students and learners but also to us as teacher educators teaching in the HIV&AIDS context. Because HIV&AIDS is considered to be a social issue, we, as teacher educators, are in an ideal position to initiate stigma-reduction dialogues (Phillips, 2022) even in mathematics and science education lecture halls. It is this integration which makes our work novel. We actively seek possibilities for integrating HIV&AIDS knowledge in our disciplines with arts-inspired, “humanizing” pedagogy. Such a pedagogy involves exploring different ways to prevent “mechanistic approaches that are disconnected from student’s needs” and a “one-size-fits-all paradigm” (del Carmen Salazar, 2013, p. 124).

To explore our research question for this study -“What professional learning in the HIV&AIDS context can we (re)construct by stepping back and co-reflecting using arts-inspired approaches?”- first we stepped back to re-explore our completed doctoral projects and self-selected exemplars from our own doctoral projects. We also justify the self-selection and emphasis on particular exemplars in this study. We then provide details of the various arts-inspired approaches we used to explore our research question. These arts-inspired approaches include self-selected artefacts that we use as metaphors to envision ways of enhancing our professional learning. To highlight the relevance of this current contribution we provide a brief summary of our doctoral projects. These projects encompass issues that we were passionate about and spent numerous years exploring our teaching and learning in the HIV&AIDS context. Thereafter we explain our poetic analysis using found poems. We provide reflections of our found poems and co-create a Red Ribbon silhouette found poem for co-reflection to answer our research question.

Data Sources

To commence our arts-inspired process of professional learning we reminded ourselves of our individual thesis projects by re-reading our theses and each chose particular exemplars to act as starting points for this retroactive, collaborative exploration. Our first set of data sources were these self-chosen exemplars. Our second set of data sources consisted of e-mailed communications about our rationale for having selected particular exemplars from our theses to enhance our professional re-learning in the HIV&AIDS context. Thereafter we individually chose artefacts that we used as metaphors. We each linked our metaphor descriptions to our self-chosen thesis exemplar. We each indicated who/what represented the teacher educator in the metaphor and described how the metaphor represented our professional learning. In addition, we each provided an appropriate title for our metaphor. Our metaphor explanations were shared and probed during a Zoom meeting. The transcription of our meeting served as the third data set. The three sets of data were explored poetically through self-created found poems. To answer our research question we used poetic analysis by reflecting on our found poems and collaboratively creating a Red Ribbon silhouette poem.

Self-chosen Exemplars from our Theses

Linda selected one of her reflections (Van Laren, 2008, p. 246–247) as her thesis exemplar. In this reflection she exposed some of her insecurities about the integration of ‘appropriate’ teaching material suitable for Grade 8 learners. In a corridor conversation with a mathematics teacher educator colleague, they had discussed a Grade 8 activity prepared by this colleague’s student, Sizwe (a pseudonym), who had been a Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) preservice teacher. Sizwe planned a cross-curricular lesson where he integrated a mathematics “Space and Shape” lesson with HIV&AIDS education. In Linda’s written reflection given in Figure 1, she included Sizwe’s main lesson activity and instructions to learners:

Figure 1.

Linda’s thesis exemplar (2008, pp. 246–247).

Ronicka worked with co-researchers (who were secondary school learners) and they privileged collective and solitary reflexive critique (Haworth & Haddock, 1999) on their journey to excavate silences about HIV&AIDS among young people. Ronicka selected the photovoice activity in which the co-researchers engaged to understand their perceptions of sexuality within the HIV&AIDS context. Co-researchers took the photographs, analyzed them initially (First analysis) and then engaged in other fieldwork, including conducting interviews among their peers, administering questionnaires and analyzing these data sets jointly with Ronicka. They reflected on the same photograph at the end of the project, and this represented the final reflection. Figure 2(a) is co-researcher Suri’s initial and final reflections of a photograph of condoms.

Figure 2.

(a) Ronicka’s thesis exemplar showing Suri’s reflections (2006, p. 197), (b) Ronicka’s thesis exemplar showing Isiah’s reflections (2006, p. 203).

Suri analyzed the photograph which she used to extend her understanding of the ABC (Abstain, Be faithful and Condomise) of AIDS prevention, as was prescribed in the curriculum. Ronicka examined the ways in which Suri’s interpretation of the condom photograph changed over the period of the project, and this is captured in Ronicka’s reflection (p. 197 of the thesis).

“The realisation that the use of a condom is more important than who carries it, is evident in Suri's final analysis ... A boy who is sexually active earns a positive masculine identity from his peers in this interpretation. Girls who carry condoms … acquire a "poor" sexual reputation. Suri is aware of how traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity impact on sexual behaviour of youth. Suri showed an understanding of the gendered nature of the disease and realized that the clinical advice to “condomise” as prescribed by the curriculum was rooted in heterosexual norms.”

Another co-researcher, Isiah, photographed a billboard which read: “We are all affected by HIV and AIDS". Isiah’s first and final analyses of the billboard photograph are in Figure 2(b).

The following reflection by Ronicka on Isiah’s analysis was captured on p. 203 of the thesis:

“The denial about HIV/AIDS which prevails in the Indian community is addressed. The discrimination to which Isiah alludes in the first analysis …reveals Isiah’s insight into the racialized underpinning of HIV, an understanding that extends beyond the biomedical approach in the curriculum.”

Our self-chosen artefacts served as instruments to assist us to respond to our challenges. Our artefacts serve as metaphors. Metaphors are considered to be key for encouraging creative thinking (Akula, et al., 2023). Through metaphors we engaged with the concepts from our primary target (the self-chosen theses exemplars) in terms of other seemingly dissimilar concepts (the self-chosen artefacts). The metaphors allowed us to express creative insights and to generate unexpected, novel insights (Akula, et al., 2023) for rethinking and innovating. Furthermore, the artefacts symbolized the concepts that we wished to convey in our inquiry where we sought means of improving our practices as teacher educators in the HIV&AIDS context. Samaras (2011), contends that artefacts act as stimuli for memory work. We adapted Samaras’s (2011, p. 105) suggestions to devise six writing prompts to explain our artefacts that we each linked to our self-chosen thesis exemplar Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3.

Linda’s artefact – a beam balance.

Figure 4.

Ronicka’s artefact – a binocular microscope.

Prompt one: Describe what artefact you chose to capture the main idea of your research interest linked to your thesis exemplar. Explain why you chose this particular artefact. Give your artefact a title that signifies the core meaning of your artefact.

Linda: The artefact I chose is a hand-made wooden balance (a horizontal base with a central, fixed, vertical attachment, a horizontal movable arm and an arrow pointing downward i.e. attached to the midpoint of the movable arm), two empty tins, and chains to connect the tins to ends of the horizontal moveable arm. The concept of ‘balance’ is frequently used in teaching mathematical concepts. For example, when showing direct comparison of object masses, and the finding of object masses using arbitrary and standard units. This well-used, rusted balance was often used for demonstration purposes in my preservice mathematics education lectures.

In my thesis exemplar I wrestled with the notion of integration of two different subjects (mathematics education and HIV&AIDS education). As a mathematics teacher educator of more than three decades, I struggle with my inability to balance my levels of knowledge, skills, and attitudes conveyed in the two subjects. I wanted both subjects to be equally important in the integrated activities that I developed and incorporated in lectures. My own insecurity in knowing what is appropriate for integrated lessons probably makes me emphasize the mathematical concepts at the expense of the HIV&AIDS education concepts. If the one container of the balance represents my mathematics education subject and pedagogical content knowledge and the other container my HIV&AIDS education subject and pedagogical content knowledge then my curriculum integration is certainly totally unbalanced. An appropriate title for my balance artefact is thus “A balancing act”.

Furthermore, I chose this artefact because a balance is always used to signify giving fair, unbiased and reasonable judgements. The justice balance is frequently displayed in law courts and often held by the blindfolded Lady Justice who represents the Greek goddess of impartiality and fairness. South Africa strives to be a democratic society so it is important, from a social justice perspective, that we treat all people equally without prejudice.

Ronicka: The artefact I selected is a microscope with an eyepiece, a stage, and rotating nosepiece with objectives. The objectives have lenses for magnification. The eyepiece is used with these objectives to select the magnification. The distance of the objectives from the stage is controlled by course adjustment and fine adjustment knobs, which are used to bring specimens into focus.

In my research which is embedded in my thesis I re-position science as a human endeavor which responds to contextual challenges. My work reveals how teachers and learners can become agents of cultural production and not be passively locked in a process of cultural reproduction. I need to disrupt the tenor of traditional science education and find ways to shift my gaze towards values which benefit people, therefore I choose a citizen-centric approach. This is challenging, because science, as a discipline, is strongly classified and values a scientist-centered approach. The microscope as a metaphor for my work is a distinctly Euro-Western artefact, a key instrument to illuminate the biomedical insights, used to promote the nature of science as a value-free, neutral activity where the researcher adopts an etic approach. I eschew this approach and argue that science is instead, tentative, value-laden, and subjective and that it depends on creativity.

In repainting the Biology curriculum I conceptualize my re-imagining of a socially just science education as “Renaiscience”. I choose the microscope as the artefact because I can control how much light is cast onto the stage. Do I want light to clearly illuminate only biomedical information about HIV&AIDS? No. I will adjust the amount of light, to favor the contours rendered clearer by dimness, and look beyond the biomedical approach, towards lived experiences of young people in a context where HIV&AIDS is rife. Will I privilege slides with specimens of blood from an HIV-positive patient to show low T Cell counts and underscore a disembodied approach? No. I will set a different stage for learning which heightens learner awareness of socially inscribed norms of HIV&AIDS, according to the tunes of race, class and gender. Metaphorically, I will use these lenses to focus beyond the ABC of HIV prevention. I will explore the role of young people who can serve as agents of change, based on their increased consciousness HIV-risk.

Prompt two: Indicate who/what in the artefact represents you, the teacher educator and who/what represents your professional learning.

Linda: I consider the horizontal, movable arm to be me, the teacher educator who sees the need to integrate HIV&AIDS education in mathematics education modules. I need to take responsibility for keeping this arm as horizontal as possible. Furthermore, this arm is controlled by my gaining subject and pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics education and HIV&AIDS education as the masses in the containers influence this movable arm. Too little subject and pedagogical content knowledge of HIV&AIDS education will undoubtedly cause the balance arm to be skewed from being horizontal.

Ronicka: I consider myself as the eyepiece to use as my philosophical lens in a way that is socially just. I can create learning experiences which empower young people to take control of their sexual choices, within an environment where HIV remains a health concern. I will focus on who education is designed for, and who are the beneficiaries of education.

Prompt three: What is the time period of your artefact?

Linda: The time period of my artefact extends back to 1987. The artefact was made at the institution which was formerly known as the Edgewood College of Education campus workshop. Since 1987 I have frequently used this balance to demonstrate mathematics education mass concepts in modules designed for Foundation, Intermediate, and Senior Phase preservice teachers.

In 2004 I commenced with integrating HIV&AIDS education in a preservice mathematics education module at UKZN. My self-selected thesis exemplar reflection on the PGCE student’s (Sizwe’s) integrated activity dates back to 2005.

Ronicka: The technology of the microscope dates back to eighth century Before Common Era to the Nimrud lens, which was unearthed in modern day Iraq. The implication of this historical artefact is that for many centuries, humans have tried to see that which was beyond the capacity of the naked eye. The period of my identification with the artefact dates from the time I embarked on my doctoral project in 2004. I had been a Biology teacher at that time and was acutely aware of the principles of the curriculum which included “an active and critical approach to learning, rather than rote and uncritical learning of given truths” (Department of Basic Education, 2011, p. 4). Effects and management of HIV&AIDS which are included do not resonate with the principles of the curriculum, but are embedded in a disembodied, bio-medical matrix. This dissonance led me to develop learner agency and critical thinking during the teaching of HIV&AIDS. I adopted a social justice lens to teaching, by empowering young people to do the research.

Prompt four: Does culture play a role your artefact?

Linda: I consider my culture to be my way of life as a South African. Social justice issues relating to HIV&AIDS are significant as many South Africans suffer as a result of this pandemic. There appears to be no agreed upon understanding of what is education for social justice (Hytten & Bettez, 2011) but this cannot be seen as an excuse for saying that there is nothing one can do about the HIV&AIDS situation. As a teacher educator at a HEI I am in a position to address the lack of accurate information and promote dialogue to make a difference in eliminating HIV-stigma. In other words, I concur with Griffiths (2013) who indicates that social justice is far more than striving towards equality and equal opportunity. She considers social justice to be a verb. By, for example, integrating HIV&AIDS education in a mathematics education module I am providing the stimulus for dialogue around HIV&AIDS.

Ronicka: The selection of my artefact is imbricated in culture because it represents what I choose to focus on and how my students and I illuminate silent spaces within the HIV context. The co-researchers (learners) in my study became increasingly aware of how cultural representations cement the boundary lines among genders. During their deconstruction of existing gender patterns, students revealed increasing knowledge about how gender constructs women as a group to be subaltern to men as a group. In daring to re-view, through a different eyepiece, and re-make an intellectual science culture which is socially just and focuses on human needs, my work was informed by philosophers such as Freire (1970), Connell (2007, 2015), Mama (2006, 2015), Kincheloe (2011), and Giroux (2011). I endeavored to embed HIV-related science knowledge in the lived experiences of people, and to locate my teaching within what Spry (2001, p. 711) refers to as an “epistemological and ontological nexus”.

Prompt five: Are there others involved in your artefact memories? What roles do they play? What is their influence on your thinking? Do they see things the way you do?

Linda: The seven volunteer preservice teachers who prepared integrated HIV&AIDS education activities for mathematics classrooms are in my artefact memories. We worked together to make a difference in young learners’ classrooms. It would be worthwhile to connect with these teachers to find out whether or not they extended or took up our integration initiatives. However, to date I have not connected with these seven preservice teachers.

The PGCE student in my self-selected thesis exemplar, is also in my artefact memories. Sizwe’s integration of HIV&AIDS education in a mathematics Grade 8 activity certainly gave me food for thought in making me realize that it is important for me to be open minded when exploring and discussing issues around sexuality. Although sexuality is often considered to be a ‘sensitive’ topic in classrooms, issues and information about sexuality cannot be ignored.

Ronicka: The 10 co-researchers who drove the project occupy significant spaces in my artefact memory repository. We adopted a research lens which enabled us to challenge gender power imbalances in heterosexual HIV&AIDS-related encounters. The co-researchers, as deep insider researchers, tapped into candid issues which result in risky sexual behavior. Their research lenses revealed the stigmatization of girls who carry condoms in co-researcher Suri’s photovoice activity, and the fallacy of racial hierarchies associated with the transmission of HIV, as was illuminated by Isiah:

Prompt six: Express an emotion that your artefact brings forth for you. Describe where this emotion generates from.

Linda: The emotion that my artefact brings forth is ‘anxiety’. I feel that I need to do more about HIV&AIDS education in HEIs – particularly in teacher education because HIV&AIDS is considered to be a disease affected by societal conditions (Poundstone, et al., 2004). It is not only people who live with HIV&AIDS who suffer but also the entire South African community needs to be informed with appropriate information to spur conversations and dialogue around HIV&AIDS. For social justice reasons, openness and appropriate HIV&AIDS knowledge could facilitate curbing of the spread of HIV, saving lives of South Africans, and lessening the stigmatization and prejudice against people living with HIV&AIDS (Phillips, 2022).

Ronicka: The emotion is joy. Joy because I am free to gaze through the eyepiece and unearth perceptions of young people within specific contexts about HIV&AIDS. This can help to trigger a sense of agency, empowerment and activism of young people for other young people.

Our Completed, Unpublished Doctoral Projects

Our doctoral studies were approved by our university’s ethics committee, which monitored how ethical principles would be adhered to during our research projects. For this study we do not intend to provide detailed accounts of our doctoral projects. However, for our stepping back approach we achieve qualitative rigor by describing full accounts of the research processes that we employed.

We provide succinct descriptions of our doctoral theses where we each furthered our professional learning about HIV&AIDS social issues using different research methods. In this self-study we seek ways of improving our practices as teacher educators by stepping back (Kuzmic, 2002) from our doctoral projects to re-examine our completed projects by co-reflecting on social issues, centered on HIV&AIDS. Linda’s doctoral research was a self-study at a HEI whereas Ronicka’s study was an exploration of high school learners’ perspectives on the social factors which fuel the HIV&AIDS pandemic. We deemed this collaborative opportunity would assist us in re-connecting and re-collecting so that we could move on to collectively re-kindle professional learning using an arts-inspired reframing process. According to Schön (1983) reframing is facilitated when research is collaborative. Reframing occurs when different lenses, both literally and figuratively, provide alternative perspectives to enhance self-study through collaboration (Loughran, 2004).

Linda’s doctoral self-study project (Van Laren, 2008) documented how she actively encouraged integration of HIV&AIDS education in a mathematics education module she had taught at a HEI. She worked with a group of seven preservice Foundation/Intermediate Phase teachers who participated in a project to devise age-appropriate integrated HIV&AIDS education activities for use in mathematics classrooms during these preservice teachers’ practice teaching at schools in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Furthermore, she integrated authentic HIV&AIDS statistics in her teaching and learning of the topic ‘Data Handling’ in a preservice mathematics education module. Using authentic South African statistics of HIV&AIDS, the preservice teachers drew various types of graphs, such as pie charts, to confront and discuss the immensity of HIV&AIDS prevalence in SA.

Ronicka conducted her doctoral study (Mudaly, 2006) during the years 2004–2006, a period when HIV infection rates were very high in SA (more than 20% of young pregnant women were testing positive for HIV at that time) and a quick, sustained response was being called for. Learners in Ronicka’s school where she had taught were severely affected or effected by HIV&AIDS. Ronicka refused to comply with the biomedical narrative as a sole response to the disease, because this excluded lived experiences of learners. She engaged 15–19 year old grade 10 learners who studied Biology in her research project. Ten learners served as co-researchers in visual participatory action research, to explore the intersection of gender, power and risk among youth, in a context where HIV was spreading rapidly. Ronicka viewed them as agents of positive social action and they engaged in photovoice activities, maintained reflective journals, and interviewed and administered questionnaires to other learners. The findings illuminated the shortcoming in the ABC of managing the spread of HIV, as was outlined in the school Biology curriculum.

Whilst completing our doctoral research projects, HIV&AIDS issues were topical. However, of late, we noticed that internationally and nationally the concerns associated with HIV&AIDS appear to have waned as other global issues have taken center stage. This means that a gap or problem has arisen because teaching and learning for addressing social issues, such as HIV-stigma, no longer seems to be as urgent and essential.

Beale (1998) points out that South African HEIs are at the apex of the education system so as South African teacher educators we consider it to be our responsibility to sustain interest and continuously update our professional learning in HIV&AIDS social issues. Furthermore, there appears to be no HIV vaccine which is publicly available so it is imperative that we, as teacher educators, continually improve our HIV&AIDS professional learning to challenge inappropriate social responses to students and learners who suffer as a result of HIV&AIDS. We have personal interests as South African teacher educators who wish to improve their professional learning as well as social interests as we continually seek new and different arts-inspired ways of encouraging dialogue in HIV&AIDS social issues.

Poetic Inquiry Process

We explored our professional learning using three different data sources, namely, self-selected exemplars from our doctoral projects, dialogue where we probed self-selected artefacts and the transcript of a Zoom meeting. To stimulate memories of our doctoral learning we used our artefacts and associated self-asked prompts, as described by Samaras (2011). We transcribed our Zoom meeting where we discussed our chosen thesis exemplars and artefact reflections.

To capture the essence of our new professional learning in a form that facilitates alternative modes of understanding that potentially incite reactions, we used found poems (Butler-Kisher, 2005) as an arts-inspired data analysis method. Text from our data sources assembled as research poems (Naicker, et al., 2023) could then, according to Langer and Furman (2004), provide us with in depth insight into the complexities and enhance our “openness, reflexivity and critical collaborative inquiry” (Pithouse-Morgan & Samaras, 2022, p. 220) to improve our learning in the HIV&AIDS context.

We commenced our poetic inquiry by individually highlighting verbatim sentences, phrases or words in the three data sources - each of us using only our own: thesis exemplar, reflections on selected artefact, and contributions during the transcribed Zoom meeting. We then expressed these key concepts concisely but for emphasis, repetitions of highlighted items were included. We agreed upon each of us creating a12-lined found poem. Thereafter we each rearranged the order of the lines to convey a systematic narrative and gave our poems a title. Linda’s found poem is entitled “Balancing conversations” and Ronicka’s “Repainting science curriculum: New stage, new lens”. After creating our poems we each reflected on our found poem.

Balancing conversations (Linda’s found poem)

HIV&AIDS is making Africans suffer

for social justice nothing one can do about HIV&AIDS is an excuse

in a democratic society we treat people equally without prejudice

lessening prejudice by conversations in higher education and schools

take responsibility in the classroom

wrestled with HIV&AIDS integration education concepts

HIV&AIDS statistics frighten people

anxiety stops people going to be tested and taking medication

sensitive sexuality issues cannot be ignored in classrooms

realistic conversation about condoms

morality openness in education

eliminating HIV-stigma by providing information and promoting dialogue

Linda’s poem reflection.

My poem points out that all people living on the African continent feel the effects of HIV&AIDS – not only those who are singled out as being HIV-positive. Furthermore, South Africans are meant to be living in a democratic society where social injustices and prejudices are inappropriate. This means that all people should be treated fairly without bias. Educational institutions can play a vital role in opening up discussions around HIV&AIDS issues. By using scare tactics, such as focusing on the deadly implications of being HIV-positive, may frighten some people causing testing avoidance, anxiety that silences discussions about HIV&AIDS and even unwillingness to take life-saving medication. In my doctoral project I started with myself by integrating HIV&AIDS education in mathematics education topics at a HEI but I now realize that my emphasis was sometimes incorrectly centered on the deadliness and sadness of HIV&AIDS issues. I thought using ‘shock’ tactics and causing anxiety could assist with lessening HIV incidence. It was only after we co-reflected on our self-asked question responses to our arts-inspired method of metaphors that I realized the strategies that I used to integrate HIV&AIDS were unsuitable. Furthermore, I neglected the social issues relating to HIV-stigma and associated prejudices. I provided accurate statistical information about HIV&AIDS but I should have provided more opportunities for discussion and dialogue using more humanistic approaches to confronting HIV&AIDS. In my doctoral project I used arts-inspired methods, by asking the pre-service teachers to draw metaphors about how they see themselves as mathematics teachers in the South African HIV&AIDS context, but I neglected to consider integration of HIV&AIDS in mathematics education as a means of initiating discussions related to discrimination and prejudice. In addition, in my mathematics education module where I integrated HIV&AIDS education, I steered clear of sensitive, realistic, morality conversations around sexuality by merely focusing on the statistical data. My poem emphasized my lack of openness in relation to sexuality issues. I should not only be focusing on HIV&AIDS education pedagogical content knowledge but also mustering courage to engage with issues that are outside my comfort zone.

Repainting science curriculum: New stage, new lens (Ronicka’s found poem)

HIV&AIDS is rife and remains a health concern

science focuses on bio-medical matrix

denial about lived experiences of young people

shift understanding about HIV&AIDS

stand on a different stage

illuminate silent spaces in the fight against HIV&AIDS

create a clearer picture beyond the ABC of HIV prevention

empower young people to focus on race, class, gender, reposition, re-view, re-make

re-view human needs in the fight against HIV&AIDS

different eyepiece to focus on science as a human endeavor that would benefit people

choose to re-make socially just science curriculum

Ronicka’s poem reflection.

I experienced conflict as a Biology/Life Sciences teacher because I believed that the curriculum that I was implementing was not responding to the devastating effects of HIV&AIDS in SA. My view was that the biomedical approach stipulated by the curriculum was out of touch with learners and their communities. To humanize the curriculum, I wanted to bring learners to the center of the teaching and learning about HIV&AIDS by empowering them with arts-based skills to explore lived experiences of their fellow learners. This required a different perspective, a new paradigm, a new lens to explore the spread of HIV&AIDS by unearthing social factors which increase vulnerability to the disease. Using photography and dialogic engagements, insight into intersecting effects of race, class and gender, and how these advance vulnerability to HIV&AIDS, emerged. I had neglected these social aspects up until this point because the curriculum was silent on these factors, and my complicity in perpetuating these silences troubled my teacher being.

The arts-based methods used to reflect on my teaching choices helped me understand the potential of humanizing the science curriculum. It provided me with courage to explore ways in which my learners at school, and later, my students at university, could be supported to think critically about HIV&AIDS, to benefit their communities.

After we individually created and recorded the significance of our found poems, we collaborated via a Zoom meeting to highlight common and meaningful words, phrases or sentences. We used these noteworthy highlighted items from our found poems “Repainting the science curriculum: A new stage, a new lens” and “Balancing act” and our discussions of these poems to capture the essence of our professional learning in the HIV&AIDS context. By stepping back and collaboratively using arts-inspired means we co-reflectively condensed our learning into a set of words with 38 syllables.

We agreed to make the silhouette of Red Ribbon using these words instead of the conventional Japanese lantern poem format (Pithouse-Morgan & Samaras, 2019) because of the significance of the Red Ribbon for HIV&AIDS awareness. We used this Red Ribbon poem to attach words and foresee deeds to make a difference to our learning and answer our research question, namely “What professional learning in the HIV&AIDS context can we (re)construct by stepping back and co-reflecting using arts-inspired approaches?” The title of our Red Ribbon poem that consists of 11 lines is “Reviewing for repositioning”.

Since 1991 (Society for People’s Awareness, Care and Empowerment [SPACE], 2007) the red ribbon shape has become the recognized symbol for HIV&AIDS awareness. This symbol may be seen as representing the care, concern, hope and support required when teaching and learning in the HIV&AIDS context. By stepping back and relooking at our completed theses, we realized that the anxiety and lived experiences of thousands of people affected and effected remain an urgent concern so teaching and learning in terms of encouraging care, concern, hope, empowerment and support need to be foregrounded. In addition, we have noticed curriculum silences concerning human factors in the spread of HIV and we can no longer be complicit in extending these silences.

We have become acutely aware of the importance of continuing to explore the use of new, different lenses for HIV&AIDS education in terms of both the biomedical and the all-important, yet often neglected, social considerations. However, our retrospective professional gaze unmasks our focus on the biomedical model at the expense of the social model and we see the need to review and extend our use of arts-inspired methods to incorporate addressing social issues such as prejudice and stigma. For social justice means and ends, the remaking of our mathematics and science higher education curricula should include dialogue with open, realistic discussions and approaches together with integrated HIV&AIDS education where the focus is on a more caring approach to health education and where support is provided to overcome the fear of having or contracting HIV (SPACE, 2007). Included in a more humanized, student centered, pedagogy of care, the voices and the visions of our students will be acknowledged and valued.

Discussion and Scholarly Contribution

Our specialization is in mathematics and science teacher education which may be considered to be strongly classified disciplines. In addition, we see the need to make a difference in our own teaching and learning-particularly in the HIV&AIDS context in which we teach. As life-long learners we benefitted by venturing beyond our scientific comfort zones where ‘facts’ are often valued more than imaginative art-inspired activities. However, through re-looking at our completed doctoral theses and stepping back it is clear that we both saw the need to make use of arts-inspired research methods. Arts-inspired methods gave us the tools to identify and the courage to resist “surface-level pedagogical approaches” (Basile & Azevedo, 2022, p. 1092) in our practice. Furthermore, arts-inspired methods provided us with opportunities to experiment with new lenses to make a difference to our learners/students who may be confronted with the harsh realities of being part of a marginalized community where social injustices, in terms of HIV-stigma, are rife. Moreover, societal silences successfully result in avoidance of dialogue around HIV&AIDS issues but we learnt that arts-inspired activities, when integrated into our disciplines, would benefit open discussions of sensitive, suppressed concerns.

We also saw the need to start with ourselves (Van Manen, 1990) in relation to integrating arts-inspired activities. In this article we presented our subjective, authentic, honest inquiry (Bernauer, 2020) to demonstrate our collaborative learning. Although we have different amounts of experience at making use of self-study and poetic inquiry, we learnt from each other through numerous virtual meetings which facilitated learning about new ways of re-looking at our academic selves. We stepped back using arts-inspired approaches and co-reflected to re-construct and further our professional learning to make a difference in a social issue. Our collaborative dialogue stimulated extended reflections of our ideologies as academics in scientific disciplines. We were able to confront our complicity, complacency and conformity to challenge our curricula that are not responsive to the immediate needs of students and learners who struggle in the HIV&AIDS context. We hope our study will motivate other researchers to step back, collaborate and use arts-inspired, innovative, self-study methods to enhance their professional learning to bring about change in an issue that they are passionate about.

Our collaborative, self-reflexive endeavor helped us to understand our potential as change agents who work towards social justice in science and mathematics education. Sharing our doctoral work and co-reflecting and analyzing our data sources though poetic inquiry allowed for repositioning of our professional selves. The open conversations in a safe space befitted identification of our shortcomings in our teaching and simultaneously supported our professional learning. Opportunities for a humanistic approach in our science and mathematics teaching were made more accessible and visible. Our collaborative self-study served as a starting point to improve our understandings of how to work towards attaining social justice in the face of HIV&AIDS.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in the article are our own and do not reflect the official position of the institution (University of KwaZulu-Natal) at which we work.

ORCID iD

Linda van Laren

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Collaboratively Stepping Back as a Method in an Arts-Inspired Self-Study to Move Forward in Professional Learning for Social Change

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Self-Study Methodology

Data Sources

Self-chosen Exemplars from our Theses

Our Completed, Unpublished Doctoral Projects

Poetic Inquiry Process

Balancing conversations (Linda’s found poem)

Repainting science curriculum: New stage, new lens (Ronicka’s found poem)

Discussion and Scholarly Contribution

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

Disclaimer

ORCID iD

References