Graffiti as Learning: Psychological Insights into Unconventional Education | Chapter 4 | Walls That Teach: Graffiti, Education and the Pedagogy of Resistance

 

This chapter is a conceptual study which explores graffiti not merely as vandalism but as a noteworthy, albeit unconventional, mode of education and personal development. It digs into several psychological theories to unpack how the creation and interpretation of graffiti can promote learning, especially for students and groups operating outside formal educational contexts. The chapter assesses how identity formation theories illuminate graffiti's role in self-expression and the claiming of identity, especially among adolescents. The social learning theory is applied to comprehend the transmission of skills, values, and norms within graffiti subcultures, while the sociocultural theory outlines graffiti as a cultural tool for meaning-making and socially mediated learning within distinctive contexts. Furthermore, the chapter reviews the constructivist learning theory, revealing how both creators and viewers actively build understanding and interpretation of their environment through graffiti. It also examines graffiti's potential for critical pedagogy, empowering marginalised voices to contest prevailing narratives and engage in social criticism. Finally, principles related to art therapy are deliberated to appreciate the emotional expression and transformative potential built into the act of creating graffiti. By blending these psychological perspectives, the chapter argues for a nuanced awareness of graffiti as a complex phenomenon that can provide deep learning experiences related to identity, community, critical consciousness, and voice, urging a review of its place in discussions of informal and non-formal education. This theoretical examination offers professionals a robust, theoretically reinforced framework for re-contextualising graffiti from a problem of vandalism to a prospective avenue for informal education and personal development.

 

 

Author(s) Details

Edmore Chingwe
Department of Foundations of Education, Rwanda Basic Education Board, TTC Bicumbi, Rwanda.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-47485-01-5/CH4