This document summarizes action research conducted in four UK schools between April and July 2009 to improve citizenship education through integrating art and digital media. The research involved university staff, teachers, and artists collaborating to design lesson plans exploring identity and Europe. Key findings were that discussing images effectively taught about identity but Europe needed more depth. Time limitations restricted coverage. The summary concludes with recommendations for an online teacher training product, including case studies, lessons, and materials addressing identity, discussing images, and exploring European identity through art.

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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 Insert image
July 2009. It involved collaboration
between university teacher education

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digital cameras and photographed
each other using props, for example
Descriptive summary of UK artifacts or clothing. Discussion
projects became a significant aspect of this
work as the children explored their
Contexts identities both within group and
The four schools involved were whole class contexts.
situated in different parts of south
London. Two schools were Roman Alongside the work on personal
Catholic. They were socially and identity, each class learned about
ethnically diverse with children from a Europe and the EU. In one school children
wide variety of ethnic backgrounds; learned about the value placed on
including a number who spoke English Children’s Rights. Children carried out
as an Additional Language. research into Europe for homework and
brought their findings into school to
Learning activities discuss and share with classmates.
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
A. Identity and Europe differed slightly they all linked aspects of
B. Exploring our identity through identity to Europe in some way. One
digital art school combined traditional and new
C. Questioning and creating artistic technologies and children drew
identities and painted imaginary European
D. Improving awareness of landmarks that became backgrounds for
citizenship through digital art photographic self‐portraits. In another,
children created European identity cards;
and in a third, children took digital
Each school focused on identity,
photographs of themselves to reflect their
Europe and digital art differently. European identities and created power
However, there were common point presentations. In one case, self‐
strategies. All the classes looked at images were created specifically to send
and discussed works by contemporary to children in a project school in Portugal.
artists that showed how identity is
shaped by clothes, make‐up and
photographic techniques. Images by
Key findings
Wendy Ewald, Ruud van Empel, Citizenship and Europe
Clement Cooper, Gillian Wearing, The teams approached Europe in
Rene Dikstra and Michael de Brito slightly different ways. However, the
were especially effective. All the learning was predominantly
children were encouraged to go geographical. Whereas the children
beyond surface features of images of all knew more about the EU and
people and discuss what they reveal Europe at the end of each project,
about a person’s individual and group there was not enough emphasis on
identity. the human aspects. It was concluded
that: Europe should feature in all
In all classes children were given lessons; shared values within the

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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 Recommendations for
In each project the team
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 • Images proven to be successful
extensively with children in in stimulating classroom
discussions to develop respect for discussion of identity and
each other’s opinions, beliefs and diversity
rights.
• Instructional materials and
Resources exemplars of various kinds for
Inadequate supplies of digital media, combining learning in
competency in using equipment and citizenship and art
technical support were an issue. There
• Specific links to PSHE and
were problems in one school securing
Citizenship curricula
whole class access to the computer
suite and in another, about the lack of The final section of this summary
technical resources for online editing. report details materials the UK team
Two projects successfully used art can offer, organized within three
software (Revelation Natural Art, Paint broad themes.
and Gimp) to manipulate images.
PowerPoint was used effectively with Theme 1: Exploring my identity.
children to collate images and text.

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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
photographic portraits together References
with children’s photographs and Google lessons Citizenship.
personal statements. http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/schools/second
5. Guidelines for using computer ary-citizenship.html
Kerr D (2007) Vision versus Pragmatism
software to manipulate Citizenship in the Secondary School
photographic images, together Curriculum in England. Department for
Education and Skills National Foundation for
with examples of digitally altered Educational Research
self‐images by children and artists Dorling Kindersley ( 2002) A life like mine:
How children live round the World. UNICEF
Ewald, W (2006) Towards a Promised Land,
Theme 2: Looking at and discussing London:
images Charman, H., Rose, K. & Wilson, G.L.
1. A list of question to ask about (eds.) 2006 A Resource for Teachers.
images London: Tate Publishing
2. Examples of contemporary artworks
of contemporary European artists and `INSERT IMAGES
other visual images that motivated
discussion of personal and collective
identity within Europe.
Theme 3: Exploring my European Research Team, Roehampton
identity University
Professor Rachel Mason
1. Instructions for a diagnostic task Fiona Collins
that establishes children’s Susan Ogier
preconceptions about Europe Mary Richardson
Julia Peck