Learning from within - an artistic inquiry into developing reflexive practice

This doctoral research is concerned with learning from within, as a transformative process. Action research theory stresses that we need other ways of knowing, beyond the intellect, in order to learn. In this thesis, I inquire specifically into how tacit knowing can be accessed, explicated and included in research. I do this by using practices of writing (inquiry and autoethnography) and art-inquiry, where I work with paintings to reach inward beyond language and discourse. Weaving various methods together to inquire also enables the development of a reflexive practice in which inner and outer aspects of being intimately connect. In my own learning, I work with the tension between intention and action, in order to go beyond what was previously known. I found that inward reflection requires a slowing down and a dwelling in the interior space. This reflective attitude makes it possible to listen to softer inner voices and previously suppressed ideas and to connect to fleeting instances of imaginary presence. Doing so led to a rebalancing of the things that matter most to me. To me, this means that my future work includes art, critical thinking, social learning and an emancipatory purpose. My finding is that, by extending ways of knowing about the world, it is possible to expand our ways of being in the world. In other words, to expand my ways of understanding the world, by knowing differently, increased my capacity for being. This type of learning lies not outside, but within. The thesis validates many different ways to learn from that lives inside, which is immaterial, invisible and has no voice or language. This has application in wider social and work contexts, since it offers the potential for people to grow from within their interior space when facing complex and challenging situations