1. 1
Images and Identity
Improving Citizenship Education Through Digital Art
2008‐9 Executive Summary UK Action Research
Images&Identity is a curriculum staff, PGCE student‐teachers, artists
development/research project funded and primary teachers. Action teams in
by the European Commission. It was each school worked within I&I learning
planned in response to recurring objectives to design and teach
evidence of shortfalls in provision and schemes of work over five sessions. All
resources for Citizenship or Civics involved attended a one‐day training
education (Kerr 2004). course prior to implementing their
schemes of work and a project
Art educators in six European member evaluation. Team members
states are collaborating with documented and recorded lessons and
citizenship trainers on production of reflected on their learning as
innovative interdisciplinary training curriculum developers and teachers.
materials that combine learning in Art
and Citizenship. The data collected included:‐
Project aims
• schemes of work/lesson plans
• To produce innovative • images selected by teachers to
curriculum materials that stimulate learning about art
integrate learning in art and identity and citizenship
European citizenship • images children created to
• To create a database of visual represent their identity
images that explore and • images selected by children to
communicate messages and represent Europe
meanings about individual and • classroom observations
collective identities • transcripts of classroom
• To train teachers and teaching dialogue
assistants in digital imaging • interviews with children and
processes, platforms, and teachers
techniques. • team members’ written and
evaluations
Action research • action research reports
This report summarises action
research undertaken in four schools in
South West London between April and
July 2009. It involved collaboration
between university teacher education

2. 2
Europe and digital art differently.
However, there were common
strategies. All the classes looked at
and discussed works by contemporary
artists that showed how identity is
shaped by clothes, make‐up and
photographic techniques. Images by
Wendy Ewald, Ruud van Empel,
Clement Cooper, Gillian Wearing,
Rene Dikstra and Michael de Brito
were especially effective. All the
children were encouraged to go
beyond surface features of images of
people and discuss what they reveal
about a person’s individual and group
identity.
In all classes children were given
digital cameras and photographed
each other using props, for example
Descriptive summary of UK artifacts or clothing. Discussion
became a significant aspect of this
projects work as the children explored their
identities both within group and
Contexts
whole class contexts.
The four schools involved were
situated in different parts of south
Alongside the work on personal
London. Two schools were Roman
identity, each class learned about
Catholic. They were socially and
Europe and the EU. In one school children
ethnically diverse with children from a
learned about the value placed on
wide variety of ethnic backgrounds; Children’s Rights. Children carried out
including a number who spoke English research into Europe for homework and
as an Additional Language. brought their findings into school to
discuss and share with classmates.
Learning activities Vocabulary, mindmaps, and other displays
Schools adapted the I&I learning were mounted on classroom walls to
objectives according to their specific reflect the children’s growing knowledge.
needs. Recurring themes were:
Whereas the conclusions for each project
differed slightly they all linked aspects of
A. Identity and Europe
identity to Europe in some way. One
B. Exploring our identity through
school combined traditional and new
digital art artistic technologies and children drew
C. Questioning and creating and painted imaginary European
identities landmarks that became backgrounds for
D. Improving awareness of photographic self‐portraits. In another,
citizenship through digital art children created European identity cards;
and in a third, children took digital
Each school focused on identity, photographs of themselves to reflect their

3. 3
European identities and created power extensively with children in
point presentations. In one case, self‐ discussions to develop respect for
images were created specifically to send each other’s opinions, beliefs and
to children in a project school in Portugal. rights.
Key findings Resources
Inadequate supplies of digital media,
Citizenship and Europe competency in using equipment and
The teams approached Europe in technical support were an issue. There
slightly different ways. However, the were problems in one school securing
learning was predominantly whole class access to the computer
geographical. Whereas the children suite and in another, about the lack of
all knew more about the EU and technical resources for online editing.
Europe at the end of each project, Two projects successfully used art
there was not enough emphasis on software (Revelation Natural Art, Paint
the human aspects. It was concluded and Gimp) to manipulate images.
that: Europe should feature in all PowerPoint was used effectively with
lessons; shared values within the children to collate images and text.
context of Europe should to covered in However, children did not use this
more depth; and work by European independently of teachers
artists only should be studied.
Time issues
Identity and stereotyping All four teams identified time as an
Exploration of multiple identities issue. Teams felt strongly the project
through art was a real strength of the should be introduced into schools in a
projects, stimulated mainly by cross‐curricular way so as to have
involving children in discussing and more time. A real strength of all four
responding to images of various kinds projects was the discussion that
and creating their own images. stimulated children’s creative thinking.
Stereotyping was addressed explicitly And this type collaborative work takes
in two schools time
Photographic literacy
In each project the team
Recommendations for
encouraged children to take training product
photographs of each other with digital
cameras. The children experienced The EU team will decide what to
this activity as very enjoyable and include in a European on‐line training
exciting. However, in three schools product at the beginning of Year 2.
teachers and children required explicit Where this is oriented towards
support taking photographs. primary teachers it could include:‐
• Case studies of two UK
Discussion and collaboration
projects, together with
In each project collaborative work and
schemes of work and user
discussion were key to success ‐both
evaluations
whole class and in groups. In two
schools the teachers worked

4. 4
• Images proven to be successful with examples of digitally altered
in stimulating classroom self‐images by children and artists
discussion of identity and
diversity Theme 2: Looking at and discussing
images
• Instructional materials and 1. A list of question to ask about
exemplars of various kinds for images
combining learning in 2. Examples of contemporary artworks
citizenship and art of contemporary European artists and
other visual images that motivated
• Specific links to PSHE and
discussion of personal and collective
Citizenship curricula
identity within Europe.
The final section of this summary
report details materials the UK team Theme 3: Exploring my European
can offer, organized within three identity
broad themes. 1. Instructions for a diagnostic task
that establishes children’s
Theme 1: Exploring my identity. preconceptions about Europe
1. Questions that motivate together with images and extracts of
discussion of identity together teacher‐student dialogue.
with video extracts of classroom 2.Instructions for researching and
dialogue; instructions for mapping Europe activities
brainstorming ideas about 3. Teachers Notes and Lesson Plan:
personal identity and a vocabulary Understanding what it means to be
list. European and Children’s’ Rights and
2. Lessons plans and a story for why they are important.
teaching about stereotypes. 3. Lesson Plans and technical
Teacher guidelines for introducing instructions, for the following practical
the topic of shared meanings ‐ projects:
children’s rights and what they Identity and Europe
mean. • Word pictures of Europe
3. Instructions for practical activities • Imagining European landmarks
in which children explore and • European ID cards
communicate their identities using How I link to Europe
artifacts and through dressing up. 4. The images used to stimulate this
Visual examples of student project work and visual examples of
artwork together with student outcomes.
comments/feedback. 5. Useful resources
4. Teacher guidance and technical
instructions for creating Research Team, Roehampton
photographic portraits together University
with children’s photographs and Professor Rachel Mason
personal statements. Fiona Collins
5. Guidelines for using computer Susan Ogier
Mary Richardson
software to manipulate
Julia Peck
photographic images, together
_

5. 5
References
Google lessons Citizenship.
http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/schools/second
ary-citizenship.html
Kerr D (2007) Vision versus Pragmatism
Citizenship in the Secondary School
Curriculum in England. Department for
Education and Skills National Foundation for
Educational Research
Dorling Kindersley ( 2002) A life like mine:
How children live round the World. UNICEF
Ewald, W (2006) Towards a Promised Land,
London:
Charman, H., Rose, K. & Wilson, G.L.
(eds.) 2006 A Resource for Teachers.
London: Tate Publishing