ART AS EMOTION – AN EXPLORATION OF VISUAL ARTS INTEGRATION
AS AN ANGER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IN AN
ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOL
A Dissertation Proposal
Submitted to the Graduate School
of
Tennessee State University
in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Doctor of Education
Graduate Research Series No. _______
Delores Brazzel
September 14, 2010
Overview
PresentationOF VISUAL
ART AS EMOTION
– AN of
EXPLORATION
ARTS INTEGRATION AS AN ANGER
MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IN AN ALTERNATIVE
HIGH SCHOOL was born of this
teacher/researcher/participant’s first hand
observations of angry “at risk” students and the
behavior change Visual Art education seem to affect in
those students.
 This study is crafted from my observations, research,
continuing pursuit of educational excellence, as well
as my commitment to being the most beneficial
educator to students and especially the “at-risk”
populations I am privileged to serve .
Theoretical frameworks
Theoretical frameworks sharpen the significance of
what notable observations are in the study and
lessen the significance of some preconceived
notions.
 The theoretical framework serving as the
foundation of this study includes: Alternative
high school students
Anger management
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs (1943)
 Art therapy
 Constructivism utilizing technology

Alternative Education
Alternative schools were created to remediate
students academically as well as
behaviorally for return to their regular
schools. Alternative education programs are
expanding in the United States due to
 Zero-tolerance policies
 Changes in the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act,
 Increases in youth violence and school
failure, (Tobin &Sprague, 2000).
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
Common Core of Data (CCD)
 1993
- 2,606 public alternative schools
 1997-1998 - 3,850 public alternative
(Hoffman, 2001).
Common Core of Data for school year 2007-08
show
 10,300 district administered alternative
schools and programs for at-risk students.
 645,500 as the total number of students
enrolled in public school districts who attend
alternative schools and programs for at-risk
students
Alternative School Students
and Anger
 Students
in alternative schools - chronic
behavior problems.
 Youth who feel ignored are often angry, …
resentful of an adult world with adult rules
(Melton, 2001).
 Mandatory placement of students fuels anger
students bring into the alternative school
classroom.
Statement of the Problem



Anger is often found at the root of the behavior
problems for alternative school students.
Among the most powerful factors for school
violence is anger, especially sudden rage.
Students who have not learned to manage
their anger are at-risk for aggression, perhaps
even violent explosive behavior (Skiba &
McElvey, 1999).
Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to explore how the
implementation of a visual arts integrated
curriculum unit, “Art as Emotion,” created by
the researcher, influences anger management
among students in disciplinary alternative high
school classroom.
The Center for Disease Control’s surveillance of
students attending alternative schools’ students
found that:



32.9% carried a weapon such as a gun, knife, etc compared to
17.3% of students from mainstream schools.
13.8% were more likely to carry a gun on one or more days of
the 30 days preceding the survey compared to students from
regular schools ( 4.9%).
60% of students had been in a physical fight at least once in the
pass year compared to 35.5% of students from standard schools
(Escobar-Chaves, Tortolero, Markham, Kelder, & Kapadia,
2002).
Significance of the Study
Comprehensive research based
anger management programs could
have a positive impact on the total
school climate.
 Anger management in alternative
schools allows students an
opportunity to acquire and hone the
skills necessary to become
productive citizens.
 The goal of this study is not to
eliminate the anger emotion but show
evidence of the “Art as Emotion”,
visual arts curriculum, in the
management of anger.

Research Questions
Quantitative Research Questions
1. How does the implementation of the “Art as
Emotion” unit affect participating students’
attendance?
2. How does the implementation of the “Art as
Emotion” unit affect participating students’
discipline and suspensions, to include In School
Suspension and Out of School suspensions?
3. How does the implementation of the “Art as
Emotion” unit affect participating students’
academic achievement?

Quantitative Research Questions
4.How does the implementation of the “Art as
Emotion” unit affect participating students’
positive coping skills?
5. How does the implementation of the “Art
as Emotion” unit affect participating
students’ anger experiences?
6. How does the implementation of the “Art
as Emotion” unit affect participating
students’ school hostility?
7. How does the implementation of the “Art
as Emotion” unit affect participating
students’ destructive expressions?

Qualititative Research Questions
1. What are students’ general perceptions of the “Art as
Emotion” unit with regard to social skills (i.e.,
interpersonal, intrapersonal, and interaction to
include peers as well as teacher)?
2. What are students’ perceptions of the “Art as
Emotion” unit respective to the relationship between
creative expression and academic achievement?
3. What are students’ perceptions of the “Art as
Emotion” unit with regard to their anger experiences,
school hostility, destructive expressions and positive
coping skills?
4. How do students interact during the “Art as Emotion”
classroom lessons? (Interactions may include nonverbal as well as verbal interactions

Chapter II Literature Review
 An
examination of the literature on anger
management, art education, and
constructivist principles, provided evidence
that a complementary relationship seems
to exist.
Anger Overview
 In
the cognitive domain, anger is
associated with biased information
processing.
 In the behavior domain, anger can
be either functional (e.g., being
assertive, setting limits) or
dysfunctional (e.g., being
aggressive, withdrawing, using
alcohol and drugs) (Hogan, 2003).
Anger Management Theory
Some adolescents acquiring anger
management skills:
Exhibited a reduction in the frequency acting-out
incidents
 Exhibited a reduction in the intensity of actingout incidents (Kellner & Bry, 1999).

As a result of growing evidence of the minimal
success of “last chance” detention center
programs, alternative educational programs
are shifting toward:
Smaller innovative academic programs
 For socially and academically at-risk students
(Kochlar-Bryant, 2005).

Anger Management Programs

Best results will come from anger management
programs that are
comprehensive,
 data driven,
 seek to develop positive productive skills
 seek to develop strengths in students (Amendola, Scozzie,

2004).

Empirical studies provide evidence that a number of
successful anger management programs have
demonstrated success in reducing youth violence.
Art Therapy
 Edith
Kramer (1958, 1971, 1979,)
 Healing occurs within the art-making process
 Approach especially suited for children with
emotional problems.
 Elinor Ulman (1961)
 Decreases
chaotic feelings, and changes in
personality
 Becomes a permanent part of the client/student’s
individual qualities.
Arts Integration and
Anger Management
Problem students often become the high
achievers in arts learning settings.
 Success in the arts can be a bridge to success
in other areas of learning (Oreck, Baum, &
McCartney, 1999).
 Students taught using integrated arts learning
use more self-regulatory behaviors and have a
sense of identity that make them more confident
and resilient (Oreck, 1999, p. 70).

Manova I – Overall there is no statistically significant difference in the pretest and
posttest results of anger management strategies in the four areas of the anger
experience – Anger; Hostility; Positive Coping, and Destructive Expression.
Descriptive Statistics
Anger
Hos tility
Pos itivecoping
Des tructive
testing
Before
After
Total
Before
After
Total
Before
After
Total
Before
After
Total
Mean
2.4135
2.4712
2.4423
2.1354
1.8750
2.0052
1.9609
2.1016
2.0313
1.8125
1.6389
1.7257
Std. Deviation
.48640
.45367
.46360
.76792
.51819
.65785
.69029
.47919
.58888
.69058
.48091
.59198
N
16
16
32
16
16
32
16
16
32
16
16
32
Pilot Study Results

The researcher (Brazzel, 2005) found no
statistically significant difference, at the .05 level, in
students’ level of anger or on the anger experience
sub-scales: School Hostility; Positive Coping; and
Destructive Expression, after anger management
strategies intervention. However, the anger
management intervention strategies did have some
effect on students:



School Hostility scores, lowering them from 2.13 before
intervention to1.87 after intervention.
Positive Coping Skills exhibited a slight increase, from
1.96 before intervention to 2.10 after intervention.
Destructive Expression showed a slight decrease from
1.81 before to 1.64 after intervention (Brazzel, 2005).
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 Detailed
description of the study
 Research questions
 Research design
 Procedures
 Participants and setting,
 Data collection and analysis
so that replication is possible and to
substantiate validity.
Research Questions- Quantitative
Quantitative data drawn from two sources
(1) Multidimensional Student Anger Inventory (MSAI)
quantitative research questions regarding
measurement of:
•
•
•
•
positive coping skills,
anger experiences,
school hostility
destructive expressions among students
Researcher/Teacher will administer both the pretest
and posttest of the MSAI to students participating
in the study.
Research Questions- Quantitative
Quantitative data drawn from two sources
(2) Student Maintenance System will
address other quantitative questions
including:
• ATTENDANCE
• DISCIPLINE
• ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Research Questions- Qualitative
Qualitative data will be collected using the
 RESEARCHER/TEACHER
OBSERVATIONS
 MINI CASE STUDIES
 STUDENT INTERVIEWS
 STUDENT SURVEYS
 STUDENTS’ ARTWORK (ARTIFACTS).
Research Design
The research design used to structure this
study is a mixed method design with
multiple groups and multiple measures.
Methodology
Event Sampling Method (ESM) will be the
methodology for this study.
 The Experience Sampling Method takes place
over time, and collects quantitative and
qualitative data.
 Experience Sampling Method can be used to
obtain empirical data on the following types of
variables:

frequency
 patterning of daily activity
 social interaction,
 changes in location;

Theoretical Sampling

This method is best used when the research
focuses on:
theory and concept development
 the researcher’s goal is to develop theory and
concepts that are connected to, or emergent from
real life events and circumstances.


The researcher’s development of theories and
concepts will be connected to the four week
intervention, “Art as Emotion” unit.
Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) guidelines of Open
Coding, Axial Coding and Selective Coding

Open Coding is “the process of breaking down, examining, comparing,
conceptualizing, and categorizing data” Quantitative & Qualitative data
Research Questions
Data Type
Data Source
1. How does the implementation of
Quantitative
SMS Chancery
Attendance data
2. How does the implementation of
“Art as Emotion” affect
participating students’ discipline
and suspensions, to include In
School Suspensions and Out
School Suspensions?
Quantitative
SMS Chancery
Discipline data
3. How does the implementation of
“Art as Emotion” affect
participating students’ academic
achievement?
Quantitative
SMS Chancery
Progress reports-
“Art as Emotion” affect
participating students’ attendance?
Report cards data
Open Coding is “the process of breaking down, examining, comparing,
conceptualizing, and categorizing data” Quantitative & Qualitative data
Research Questions
Data Type
Data Source
11. What are students’ general
perceptions of the “Art as Emotion”
unit with regard to social skills (i.e.,
interpersonal, intrapersonal, and
interaction to include peers as well
as teacher)?
Qualitative
Teacher observation
Students/
Participants surveys
2. What are students’ perceptions of
the “art as Emotion” unit respective
to the relationship between creative
expression and academic
achievement?
Qualitative
Teacher observation
Students/
Participants surveys
3. How do students interact during
the “Art as Emotion” classroom
lessons? (Interactions may include
verbal and non-verbal interactions) ?
Qualitative
Teacher observation
Students/
Participants surveys
Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) guidelines of Open Coding,
Axial Coding and Selective Coding
Axial Coding is “a set of procedures whereby data
are put back together in new ways after open
coding, by making connections between
categories”.
 Connections between Art as Emotion unit and




Anger Experiences (Quantitative data)
Attendance (Quantitative data)
Discipline (Quantitative data)
Academic (Quantitative data)

Selective Coding is “the process of selecting the core
category, systematically relating it to other categories,
validating those relationships, and filling in categories that
need furtherrefinement and development”
Core
Category
Other
Measurement Relationship
Categories
Art As Emotion: Attendance
Anger
Management
Quantitative-SMS
Art As Emotion:
Anger
Management
Quantitative-SMS
Discipline/
Behavior
Art As Emotion: Academic
Anger
Achievement
Management
Quantitative-SMS
Research Instrument
The Multidimensional School Anger Inventory (Smith, Furlong, Bates, and
Laughlin, 1998) is one of the research instruments that will be utilized. The
MSAI is designed to measure affective, cognitive, and behavioral components
of anger among youth. Scales include anger experience, cynical attitudes, and
destructive expression
Students will respond to 27 anger expression items using a four-point Likert-type
scale
 1 = I’m not angry at all
 2 = I’m a little bit angry
 3 = I’m pretty angry
 4 = I’m very angry. I’m furious
The anger expression portion of the questionnaire asks about how frequently the
student expresses anger in various ways using these responses:
 1 = Never
 2 = Occasionally
 3 = Often
 4 = Always

Data Collection
Quantitative, then qualitative data collection
methods will be employed throughout the
implementation of the “Art as Emotion”
unit.
 Quantitative data input and analysis data
from the Statistical Package for the Social
Scientist (SPSS).
 The student maintenance system records,
retains and disaggregates all data in areas
 students’
attendance,
 discipline,
 academic achievement
Data Collection
Qualitative
data collection Grounded
Theory analysis. Glaser and Strauss (1967)
describe this analysis process as involving
 1)
the identification of a phenomenon, object,
event or setting of interest
 2) the identification of a few local concepts.
Qualitative
data will be collected
 observations,
 pre
and post-intervention assessments,
 student artworks
 video/audio tape analysis
 interviews.
“Art as Emotion” is the unit created by the
researcher/teacher participant.
“Art as Emotion” coalesces art therapy anger
management strategies along with the art
integration curriculum
 The visual art integration projects/lesson
plans will align with the core curriculum of
history, math, English and other academic
courses to provide relevant and long lasting
learning.

“Art As Emotion” Unit Lesson Plans



Lesson Plan1 Art as Emotion© Elements of Art; COLOR – Color
Theory
 Color Wheels; Color theory artwork; Warm/Cool color artwork.
Lesson Plan 2 Art as Emotion© - Elements of Art: LINES –
Expressive Lines.
 (1) Hands (2) Expressive Lines
Lesson Plan 3 Art as Emotion© - Visual Art Integration with History
 Examples – PPT – Renaissance Artists
Lesson Plan 4- Visual Art Integration with Geometric
Shapes
 Lesson Plan 5 - Visual Art Integration with English Art as Emotion© CHARACTER EDUCATION
JOURNALS
