Advancing Inclusive Playful Learning Practices: Critical Examination of Affective and Embodied Dynamics in Artful Educational Practices as Catalysts for Playful Learning

This dissertation emerges from a collaborative three-year PhD project (2020-2023) between University College of Northern Denmark and Aalborg University, forming part of the Playful Learning Research Extension, involving 12 PhD fellows, senior researchers, and research management. The project examines the integration of artful educational practices in the Social Education Studies Program, exploring their role as catalysts for playful learning. Adopting a post-qualitative research design, this dissertation sheds light on the affective and embodied dimensions of artful educational practices, and their role in Playful Learning, while also revealing underlying power dynamics. It employs an affective ethnographic approach to examine these practices in real-world setting. The work not only offers theoretical insights but makes practical contributions to the field, enhancing our understanding of inclusive pedagogy in arts-based education and providing new perspectives on Playful Learning in higher education. Significant contributions of this research include:
1. Examining how the affective power of collaborative learning can be harnessed to create inclusive and engaging educational experiences.
2. Providing insights into the complex affective dynamics and micropolitical aspects of artful practices, which helps in addressing issues of power and privilege in educational settings.
Furthermore, the dissertation explores the challenges posed by prevailing societal norms in the Nordic context to the enactment of artful and ethically responsible education. It critically examines how notions of “whiteness” influence educational practices and calls for the development of new affective relationalities to counteract these biases. Additionally, it highlights the importance of affective thinking and creating inclusive atmospheres in Playful Learning environments.

This project has had the following research question:
How might mapping the affective and embodied dynamics that emerge in and through artful educational practices in Social Education at a University College in Denmark contribute critical insights regarding the relations of power and privilege these dynamics index and how these can be addressed?
The research question guiding this dissertation is operationalized into three sub-questions:
(1) Whether and how artful educational practices might contribute to playful learning, and in what ways it offers points of intervention where educators can enhance students’ educational experiences and contribute to their sense of inclusion?

(2) In what ways can hauntological perspectives enable the researcher to account for affects in data collection, making visible the lingering hauntings of whiteness and privilege in art pedagogical spaces and practices?

(3) How can an investigation into artful teaching practices, aimed at fostering affective and embodied democratic education spaces in the Social Education Studies Program, reveal affective strategies that promote inclusivity, and how can these insights advance more inclusive methodologies within playful learning?

The dissertation comprises three research articles, each discussing different aspects of the project’s findings, development, and contributions. Utilizing a post-qualitative approach, it reflects on the research process, incorporating insights, changes, and perspectives gathered throughout the project. The empirical foundation is drawn from arts-based educational interventions and experiments, focusing on democracy and citizenship, and an introductory course for first-year social educator students.