Artists and Teachers Develop Methods for Managing Stress

How can art education contribute to greater well-being and less stress in schools? This was the theme when the Malopolska Institute of Culture (MIK) in Krakow invited 15 teachers to a workshop, with Kulturtanken’s Charlotte Blanche Myrvold participating as a peer reviewer.

The workshop is part of the European cooperation project Mind the Gap.

Over the course of two days, the participants explored creative exercises, discussed methods and shared experiences.

The teachers who took part had different professional backgrounds. Subjects represented included Polish, life skills and physical education. They showed great commitment to their profession, a strong understanding of everyday school life and pupils’ needs, and not least a willingness to acquire new methods and step outside their comfort zone.

The aim of the workshop was to explore how art-based methods and activities can help reduce stress and increase pupils’ well-being.

MIK had carried out thorough preparatory work in advance to identify issues affecting the everyday lives of teachers and pupils, and developed a set of exercises intended to help address the challenge. The issues identified as significant challenges in Polish schools were stress and over-stimulation.

The participating teachers had many experiences of performance pressure and stress being a major challenge in Polish schools. The shared understanding of the issue and willingness to explore new methods strengthened the quality of the interdisciplinary exchange during the workshop.

The workshop placed strong emphasis on open dialogue between art educators, artists and teachers.

“What I liked most was that there was plenty of room for discussion. The structure facilitated a rich dialogue between the art educator/artist perspective and the teacher perspective,” says Myrvold.

Some of the exercises were demanding and introduced new ways of doing and thinking to the participants, but  they also contributed to increased confidence and reflection.

“My impression is that the open and trust-based exchange about the exercises, including what was experienced as difficult, helped create confidence around the use of art in teaching, while also providing strong personal experiences of well-being through art,” Myrvold notes.

An important reminder

Collaboration and exchange of experience between the cultural and education sectors are also essential for the development of The Cultural Schoolbag.

Workshops like these can be an important reminder of how vital the dialogue between teachers and artists is. The experiences from Poland also show that dialogue must be facilitated, and that time for testing and discussion adds great value to efforts to strengthen the role and place of art in schools.