Project title: Creativity, curiosity and professional artists in schools

Primary supervisor: Dr Diana Omigie (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Second supervisor: Prof. Alice Jones Bartoli (Goldsmiths, University of London)

University: Goldsmiths, University of London, Department of Psychology

SENSS Theme: Justice, Institutions and Social Change

Collaborative partner: Curious Minds

Collaborative partner supervisor: Dr Steph Hawke

Degree structure: The structure of the studentship offered will depend on your personal training needs. However, the minimum duration of a SENSS-funded studentship will be 3.5 years: this covers a PhD and a mandatory placement of approximately 3 months. The maximum duration of a studentship will be 4.5 years: this covers a Masters degree followed by a PhD, as well as the mandatory 3-month placement.

Project background

This exciting and innovative studentship project will examine the extent to which teaching artists -professional artists who also deliver workshops and residencies in schools - have a role to play in inspiring creativity, critical thinking and curiosity in school pupils. This is an important research question at a time when such arts and cultural educational opportunities are at an all-time low.

The doctoral researcher will run studies involving school pupils, teaching artists and classroom teachers, and use sophisticated methods for analysing the resulting quantitative and qualitative data. The project is a collaboration between Goldsmiths, University of London, renowned for interdisciplinary research including the psychological study of arts and creativity, and Curious Minds, a charity that works to ensure all children and young people have access to the benefits of creativity and culture. The doctoral researcher will be supervised by Goldsmiths researchers with complementary expertise in art and education psychology (Dr Diana Omigie and Professor Alice Jones Bartoli) and Dr Steph Hawke, Head of Impact and Learning at Curious Minds. Collaboration with Curious Minds will offer invaluable access to a large network of teaching artists, schools and relevant cultural organisations.

Project aims and objectives

The key aims of the studentship are to:

  1. explore the influence of teaching artists’ interventions on young people’s creativity, curiosity and critical thinking;

  2. examine the consequences of such interventions for young peoples’ educational attainment; and,

  3. determine the key mechanisms underlying teaching artists’ impact.

Training opportunities

A comprehensive package of training will be agreed in consultation with the supervisors. Elements of training will be provided by the supervisors, Goldsmiths, and by other providers. The doctoral researcher will receive training on the use of behavioural measures of creativity, automated methods for evaluating creative outputs, development of questionnaires, interview schedule preparation and state of the art techniques for analysing quantitative and qualitative data. The doctoral researcher will enjoy access to taught modules in relevant programming languages and software (e.g., R, Python and NVivo) as well as interdisciplinary training courses provided by SeNSS. They will also gain industry work experience as part of a placement with Curious Minds.

Essential and/or desirable attributes/skills

It is essential that applicants have a deep interest in the Psychology of the Arts and Creativity and/or the Psychology of Education and Development. Although a specialist MSc is desirable (in relevant subdisciplines of Psychology and Education) we welcome applications from those holding, or predicted to achieve, a first class or 2.1 undergraduate degree in Psychology, Education or other relevant disciplines. Also desirable is experience in the arts and cultural education sector and/ or strong skills in experimental design, statistical analysis and programming in R or Python.

Studentship details

This studentship will be taken as between a 3.5 and 4.5 years duration depending on personal training needs. The studentship may be completed on a Full time or Part time basis. The studentship award covers university fees and provides the doctoral researcher with a stipend of £18,622 per year, plus a £2,000 London weighting allowance . The doctoral researcher will also be able to apply for small amounts of additional funding via the SENSS Research Training Support Grant.

 Residential eligibility

Home or international students are eligible for a fully-funded award (fees will be paid, and they receive a stipend/salary).

How to apply for this studentship

To be considered for this SENSS studentship, you must first apply for a place to study at Goldsmiths, University of London, noting that you are applying for the collaborative studentship. Please go here for information on how to make your application.  

You will also need to make a separate application to SENSS for this collaborative studentship. Please read the SENSS Collaborative Studentship Application Guidance Notes before completing our online application form. The Guidance Notes are available here.

Deadline:

The deadline applying to Goldsmiths University of London for a place is 23:59 GMT on 10 March 2024

The deadline for submitting your application for SENSS funding on HEIApply is 12:00 GMT on 11 March 2024. No extensions to this deadline will be permitted.

For further enquiries:

For enquiries about this research project, please email Dr Diana Omigie at diana.omigie@gold.ac.uk

For enquiries related to your eligibility for this studentship, and/or the application process, please email Chris Robson, SENSS Operational Lead at Goldsmiths on c.robson@gold.ac.uk.