The experience of the University student with art making : an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study is to gain an in-depth insight into the experience of university students who engage in art during their academic path. Five semi-structured interviews were held with five university students registered at the University of Malta, all aged eighteen and older, who have engaged in art during their academic path at university level. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data collected from the interviews. Five superordinate themes were generated: the university experience, the positive impact of art making, artistic engagement during the academic path, cognitive processes employed during art making and support for artistic promotion at university. Results have shown that the university experience, despite being exciting and pleasant, brings with it stress and negative emotions. Artistic engagement has been experienced as a temporary escape by the students during their academic journey, and has left a positive impact on their academic path and psychological well-being, as well as on relationships with other individuals. Further promotion of art making activities during university endeavours has been highly supported by the participants. Limitations and suggestions for further research are also discussed in the final chapter of this research.