Browsing by Subject "Leisure"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    ADULT ARTS EDUCATION: A DELPHI STUDY FORECASTING THE ROLE OF THE ARTS IN A LIFELONG LEARNING SOCIETY
    (2005-12-16T14:29:28Z) Laffery, Sue-Anne
    Poster Session-As we deal with a rapidly aging population, the arts education and arts policy community needs to take an active role in providing insight into policies that address adult choices. This includes defining the role of the arts beyond K-12 education, intergenerational opportunities, and identifying connections with ‘general well-being’ age-based policies from leisure, recreation, and aging in the United States. The Delphi Technique Method was used to identify what actions need to be taken to serve older adults and forecast the role of adult lifelong learning in the arts, as well as address the attitudes to such programming on the national, state, and local policy level. The anonymous Delphi – a qualitative forecasting method that is a structured group process that outlines the pros and cons of an issue, with the goal of identifying priorities of personal values and social goals – was sent to national stakeholders in arts policy, arts education policy, and gerontology. The stakeholders were chosen due to experience in their field, an exhaustive literature review, and recommendation from their colleagues. The data collected from this group identifies an overview of the attitudes, beliefs, knowledge of, and objectives and goals in serving the needs of adults and older adults in and through the arts. This research will provide insight into the characteristics and identify, if any, future predictions of local, state, and national initiatives of adult arts education. Using the Delphi method, it was possible to develop a theoretical framework based on experts’ vision, multiple perspectives, and comprehensive insight to address the role of the arts in a lifelong learning society. As we enter the twenty-first century, we are engaged in a wide-ranging process of redefining the character of the arts’ common purpose. The door is open for the arts to become an important ingredient in the public purpose by involving the many adult learners of the twenty-first century. In order to take advantage of this opportunity and to accommodate the changing aging demographics, lifelong learning in the arts beyond K-12 education must be redefined.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Eternal Age: Art Therapy as a Means of Improving Quality of Life
    (2019) Rush, Haley; Misluk, Eileen
    This human-subject study used a mixed methods research design to identify if participation in individual, group, and open studio art therapy sessions would improve the quality of life for older adults. Person centered care was used as a framework for the art therapy programming. The Brunnsviken Brief Quality of life scale (BBQ) was used as a pre and mid test intervention and provided a baseline measure of quality of life. It was hypothesized that there would be an increase in the BBQ scores after participation in a 16-week art therapy program. The average difference of individuals pre and mid BBQ scores were used to identify if a change in quality of life had occurred in the life areas of leisure, creativity, and learning through the art making process. This study assessed creativity and learning through art making and leisure as the time spent in the process. The results showed that the overall BBQ scores were not representative of the gains demonstrated, although there were notable increases in leisure, creativity, and learning. Additionally, companionship was found to be a key factor in quality of life. These findings provided support for the use of a person-centered approach to art therapy which may lead to an increase in quality of life for older adults. Future implications of this study include continuing to explore the correlations between art therapy and quality of life as a means of engaging older adults in meaningful and productive activities that foster self-esteem, autonomy, empowerment, and problem-solving skills.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Rebuilding Neural Pathways in Older Adults with Art Therapy
    (2019) Rhoades, Torrie; Misluk, Eileen
    This paper explores scholarly literature regarding dementia, neural pathways, dementia studies, types of dementia, and previous art therapy studies with the aging population. A study was conducted at two aging facilities in a midwestern metropolitan city to determine correlations between quality of life, mood, and art therapy interventions for people with dementia. This grant funded study used a mixed methods methodology which combined both quantitative and qualitative research to provide a variety of data collection measures that can be used to provide a broader understanding of the clients. Two surveys were given to all participants in August and December: The Brunnsviken Brief Quality of life scale (BBQ) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). In addition to those measures, the researchers collected participant verbalizations throughout the research study. It was determined that the results of this study did not demonstrate a correlation between mood and quality of life in the domain areas studied. Some participants that showed decreased depression and showed a decrease in QoL, while some showed an increase in QoL, and others showed no change at all. An increase in mood across 61% of participants during the art therapy study warrants a deeper look into whether this type of intervention is responsible for decreased depressive symptoms. Based on the findings in the study, formal assessments may not be the most accurate way to gather the benefits with this population due to the presence of cognitive decline and lowered ability to self-report.