Date of Award
2026
Keywords
arts education, transferable skills, employability, career development, creative thinking, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, narrative inquiry, secondary education, 21st century skills, visual literacy, non-verbal communication, aesthetic reasoning, holistic education
Document Type
Thesis - ECU Access Only
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
School
School of Education
First Supervisor
Julia Morris
Second Supervisor
Anne Coffeey
Abstract
Arts education is considered important in fostering transferable skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, and collaboration; often termed the ‘4Cs’ (Daly et al., 2019; OECD, 2018; Schleicher, 2012; Swanzy-Impraim et al., 2022), these are considered leading competencies in current education. These skills have become highly valued in today’s world, both instrumentally and intrinsically, for their capacity to build emotional intelligence alongside academic success, making them important for employment and career development. Both seminal and contemporary research highlights that aesthetic reasoning, and relationship skills are developed through an Arts education. These skills are essential because they are fundamental to the 4Cs, preparing students for success in today’s world.
This study examined the Arts education experiences of 16 former students from across Australia who have studied one or more Arts subjects during their secondary schooling, to explore the transferable skills they perceived to have enhanced their post-secondary school careers. Combined with the effectiveness of these perceived skills in professional settings, this informed practice research evolved into a purposeful narrative inquiry. This study emphasised transferable skills required in a broadened recognition of the 4Cs, integrating critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, and collaboration (Daly et al., 2019; OECD, 2018; Schleicher, 2012; Swanzy-Impraim et al., 2022) with additional qualities proposed by Ewing (2020a): curiosity, compassion, connection, and courage shaping careers. These all form the core of contemporary learning and are promoted and fostered within Arts education. The research highlighted how Arts education nurtures these essential transferable skills, preparing individuals for diverse professional paths. By centring on these expanded 4Cs, the study underscored the transformative potential of Arts education in fostering holistic development and enhancing both personal and professional growth.
Narrative inquiry was used to preserve participants’ reflective perspectives and recognise individual education journeys. As noted by Mertova and Webster (2020, p. 3), narrative inquiry attempts to capture the ‘whole story’. A purposive critical restorying approach was employed to present rich, in-depth interview data (Clandinin, 2007; Ollerenshaw & Creswell, 2002; Creswell & Poth, 2018), acknowledging the shared experiences of the researcher and participants in terms of Arts education informing employment. The researcher employed a dialogic storytelling approach as a process of narrative analysis (Dhungana, 2022). The reconstructed narratives provided insights into the perceived relevance of creativity as an applicable skill across diverse professional domains; and the importance of critical thinking fostered through Arts analysis, interpretation, and evaluation. Insights included perceived linguistic competencies such as non-verbal communication, visual literacy, and the ability to convey emotions and ideas; all perceived as useful in employment, irrespective of whether individuals worked in the Arts or other fields. The findings indicated that it is important to explicitly teach transferable Arts skills, ensuring that this skill-learning reaches beyond students who choose Arts subjects as electives. The research underscored the advantages of Arts skills across various generations and age groups, emphasising the enduring impacts and lasting competencies fostered by Arts education. Transferable skills such as communication, creativity and collaboration were found to transcend generational boundaries.
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 12th August 2031
Recommended Citation
Vaswani, S. (2026). Transferable skills enhanced through an arts education: A narrative inquiry. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/x8wt-0144