" But ABER is not aimed toward a quest of certainty . Its purpose may instead be described as the enhancement of perspectives ." Barone , Tom , & Eisner ( 1997 )
performative memoir as an arts-based research methodology for her thesis . Burke says , “ The Ducks on the Moon process is ongoing research . I did the show and processed the reception , and then it became a documentary for CBC , and later it became a book .” Burke finds that each new iteration is “ a massive education .” For example , when she produced the documentary , Burke interviewed the heads of the Canadian and British autism centres : “ Those interviews informed the newest iteration of the play , and the book , and the way the documentary was received , informed me , too . Now , I ’ m getting the reception from Scott . That ’ s what Scott ’ s song writing is , an arts response that is in fact a qualitative research .”
Thompson hasn ' t seen any artsbased educational research in the area of inclusive education . He notes that music as research still requires academic rigour . Thompson explains , “ There is the authority and necessity , maybe not necessity , but if a play with music is going to be under the trope of academic research , there are certain things you have to adhere to . What makes this research ? It is the collecting of data from the interviews that Kelley Jo and I are conducting with each other , the reflections on those , and connecting to the themes of the play — there are some salient themes around students with autism and also a lot around parent / professional relationships . Families , professionals , and interactive teaming : these are key parts of what it means to do inclusive practice in schools . When students have a disability , they have a guaranteed relationship with the helping professions . The parent / guardian perspective is much valued in that they are part of the team , ideally .”
There are other challenges to consider with music as research : Thompson says , “ If it is performative , it has to work within the parameters of its artistic discipline . It has to work as music , as a play , and as research . In other words , bad music does not make credible educational research .”
Arts-based educational research , according to Barone , Tom , and Eisner ( 1997 ), is aimed towards " enhancement of perspectives " rather than certainty ( see quote above ). 1 Thompson outlines how his research enhances , " or creates the possibility for enhancing ," perspectives on autism and inclusive education .
First , “ this research really enhances the perspective of the parent , in particular in those first years when the parents or guardians are coming to terms with the diagnosis and coming to understand the exceptionality that their child has .”
Second , Thompson has learned that it is okay to try new things , to “ take a chance .” As an example , Thompson points to one of the songs , “ Guess I Missed Those Cumulonimbus Clouds ( Wendy the Weather Girl ),” the only metaphorical song in the play . He says , “ One of the things we are trying is to animate autism in the sense of using an analogy . So many children with autism are fascinated by the weather network : What it means to have autism , and the learning characteristics of ASD , often suggest that one is very visual , and if you think about the weather station , it is visual . One can see the temperatures going up or down over the week , see the wind speed , see the weather maps and the different colours , with red the most intense . I ’ ve found that kids just really like it [ but ] I don ’ t know if the audience will connect with that . Metaphorical language is not often used in research , particularly in inclusive education , where the charge is — and responsibility is — to determine and use evidence-based practices , knowing what works with students with autism . This is a very different way of thinking about research .”
Third , the research has enhanced Thompson ' s perspective of the listener . as a listener . “ Is there enough variety in the songs , ... enough lyrical , melodic , and harmonic contrast through a 75 - 90 minute piece ?”
A fourth salient aspect is that Thompson has learned to honour and respect the courage of a co-writer in a new way : “ We always do that , but this goes to enhancing the perspective . It ’ s one thing to interact with parents ( as
1 Barone , Tom , & Eisner . ( 1997 ). Arts-based educational
research . Complementary methods for research in education 2 ( p . 96 )
I did for many years ), and teachers , and students with autism , it ’ s another thing to interact with a parent who has encapsulated her experience in a theatrical way . It enhances that perspective . In a sense Kelley Jo and I have a parent / professional relationship , as well as an artistic relationship . I would say that we are both artists with a particular goal . She is also a parent of her son with autism and I am also a professor in inclusive education .”
This relationship is one reason Thompson feels so invested in this research . “ I ’ m connecting with a parent who has told her story so well , and so honestly , that it is a bit daunting to be entrusted with that . We are definitely in a partnership and we have roles : She is the playwright and actor , and I am the song writer . There is a reverence , or perhaps deference , a regard for Kelley Jo as a mother , as a performer , and as a playwright .” Thompson finds Burke ’ s use of language to be “ deeply elucidating ." He says , " She is someone with an artistic sensibility , and the way she describes things can be quite powerful , can convey the feelings behind .”
Burke agrees , “ I ’ m a pretty vigorous performer and I kind of go there , and people will get worried . Saskatchewan is an emotionally conservative culture ; large emotions , strong demonstrative stuff are quite uncomfortable and I tend to go real hard because that is my disposition .”
The music adds another emotional dimension , according to Burke . She says that Thompson ’ s musical iteration of her play lends an undercurrent of emotion that wasn ’ t there before . “ The very first thing I noticed is that the show becomes instantly kinder because of the musical response . When I was writing it , I had real anxieties around the one-woman show . ... The danger of any self-research is that it becomes really self-indulgent and whiney . I was anxious that that would be how it would be received . When I was first putting it together with the late Michele Sereda , she said , ‘ You are SO mean to yourself in the script . You have to ease off or the audience won ’ t feel like they can like you .’ But I wanted to be rigorous . I didn ’ t want to justify . I didn ’ t want to continued on page 12
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