The arts as a tool for identity development: how an arts-integrated writers’ workshop fostered sense of self and agency in disabled students / Las artes como herramienta para el desarrollo identitario: cómo un taller de escritura que integra las artes fomentó el autoconcepto y la agencia en estudiantes con discapacidad

Abstract

This exploratory, qualitative case study examines the interplay between identity, arts integration and agency in an arts-integrated writing workshop for 10 disabled high school students in the United States. Participants were enrolled in a language arts classroom that offered a writers’ workshop every Tuesday for 16 weeks. Classroom observations, questionnaires, interviews and students’ artefacts provided insight into how the workshop served as a space for students to consider how to integrate their disability identity into their overall sense of self and the agency to choose when and how they wanted to share this part of themselves. This study expands upon current research by highlighting how arts integration equips disabled students with tools to cultivate a sense of self, develop agency and challenge normative discourse.