Synergies between Creative Strategies and Participatory Behaviors in Workplace Training

Abstract

This article reflects on analyzing and understanding the articulation between creative processes in art education and the development of training for a culture of social and cultural citizenship. The methodology of projects developed in Workplace Training over two academic years involved two 12th-grade secondary specialized art classes. The realization of the projects, based on the action-research methodology, sought the student's participation and involvement in the decision-making of the activities as co-authors in their learning and cooperation with the teachers. Direct observation and interviews with the participants were the main instruments for the data collection. The analysis data used the NVivo program. This study argues on the sociocultural theories of creativity (Glăveanu, 2013; Beghetto, 2016), citizenship and educational contexts (Eça, 2010; Caetano & Freire, 2014), and the context of Art Education (Eça et al., 2012; Eça, 2014; Ramirez, 2016). The main results revealed an interdependent relationship between creative processes and citizenship practices, increased knowledge, and capacities capable of promoting collaborative creativity (Burnard & Dragovic, 2015). These results will allow this relational dynamic to develop and transform through social interactions and situated contexts, with evidence of communication between all those involved, with openness to social and cultural diversity, to generate other possibilities for synergy.