Abbie Cairns: Exploring the identity of an artist-teacher

This month on the Technecast, we're exploring identities, and in this episode we're joined by Abbie Cairns. Abbie introduces her research, 'Interrogating Artist Teacher Identity (Trans)Formation in Adult Community Learning (ACL)'. An educational sector often delivered by local authority, for learners aged 19+ (Department for Education, 2019). Central to the work is the belief that ACL has different qualities to other educational sectors and that these qualities impact the identity of the artist-teacher. These qualities include the low status and pay (Briggs, 2007; Augar, 2019) in comparison to Higher Education, lack of access to subject specific continued professional development (Allison, 2013) and communities of practice (Sheridan, 2018) in comparison to secondary education and precarious working hours (A Plan for an Adult Skills and Lifelong Learning Revolution, HC 278, 2021). Abbie explores her mixed methodology rooted in a grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967), including life story interviewing (McAdams, 2012), autoethnography (Adams et al, 2014) and vignettes about composite character artist-teachers. These methodologies have been chosen due to their links to storytelling and is concerned with theoretical plausibility of the story (Morse et al, 2021) and how they can help us understand the phenomenon. She shares with you the story of Jessica a composite character based on four artist-teachers in ACL and extracts of autoethnographic writing on her own identity (trans)formation.-----Contributor:Abbie Cairns is an artist-teacher working in Adult Community Learning (ACL). She is currently completing her PhD at Norwich University of the Arts. Her research explores the identity (trans)formation of artist-teachers in ACL. Abbie identifies herself as an artist-teacher and is engaged in both art and teaching practices.Abbie is interested in how artist-teachers in ACL came to develop their identity and is engaged in narrative research with participants. Motivated by her own lived experience, she wants to connect with others with the same identity.Abbie is a text-based artist who makes, and exhibits work regularly. She sits on the board for Colchester Art Society and facilitates the Creative Practitioner Support Programme for SPACE, supporting emerging artists.If you want to find out more about Abbie's work, you can follow her here:Twitter: @abbiecairnsartInstagram: @abbiecairnsportfolio----The Technecast:technecast.wixsite.com/listen - [email protected] - @technecastThe Technecast is funded by the Techne AHRC-DTP, and edited by Polly Hember, Julien Clin & Felix Clutson.Episode presented by Felix ClutsonOriginal art by Abbie CairnsRoyalty free music generously shared by Steve Oxen. FesliyanStudios.com