Abstract
This assignment aims to investigate whether aesthetic activities can support and develop students’ well-being, engagement and motivation in high school. The assignment arises from the current
debate about the dissatisfaction among young people today and the need for schools to take it seriously. The task initially seeks to define and nuance the problem from a number of psychological, sociological and educational perspectives. It finds that the reduced academic well-being and motivation in high school can be linked, among other things, to an increased focus on grades and achievements and to a culture of perfection, which both stresses and passives the students.
The assignment therefore presents a theoretical perspective on learning, which can contribute to a solution to this problem. In this connection the aesthetic activities are particularly enhanced for their ability to increase engagement, motivation, and well-being in the classroom and for their ability to shift the student's focus on themselves.
The second part of the assignment describes and analyzes an experiment where two high school teachers try to implement aesthetic activities in their teaching with the aim of increasing academic well-being end engagement. The experiment is organized as an action learning project and follows the structure that characterizes action learning processes including: problem finding, actions and subsequent reflections that lead to new actions. The researcher behind this assignment is the initiator of the experiment and contributes to the experiment by bringing in relevant theory of aesthetic learning processes. When the teachers implement the interventions in their teaching the researcher behind this assignment changes her role into observer and interpreter.
The results of the experiment are analyzed in relation to the theoretical perspectives and lead to conclusions about the importance of the inclusion of the aesthetic activities. The experiment shows, that the aesthetic activities engage and motivate the students to a great extent, and they contribute to high levels of well-being in the classroom. But it also shows that if the aesthetic activities are to function in high school, however, a strict structure, a reassuring atmosphere and a close connection to the academics are necessary.
In a subsequent discussion, the study's results and verifiability are discussed and put in relation to the concept of education.