Expressive Art Workshops and Early Psychosocial Detection: A Mixed-Methods Study
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Abstract
Background and Aims: Early psychosocial challenges in basic education can adversely impact learners’ engagement and well-being, especially when their language expression abilities are constrained. Expressive art activities provide developmentally appropriate, non-verbal environments that may facilitate the observation of psychosocial indicators within educational contexts. Conducted in the Philippine basic education setting, this study is framed within an education management perspective, examining how expressive art workshops support facilitator observation, early psychosocial awareness, and preventive support processes within structured school systems rather than functioning as therapeutic interventions. This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of an expressive art workshop as a supplementary, screening-supportive instrument for early psychosocial identification in primary school.
Methods: An applied mixed-methods design utilised facilitator feedback from 29 facilitators across basic education contexts. Quantitative data were gathered via standardised Likert-scale items and analysed using descriptive statistics, composite indices, one-sample t-tests, and exploratory Pearson correlation analysis. Primary composite results indicated a Workshop Implementation Index (WII) mean of 4.42 and a Detection Capacity Index (DCI) mean of 3.73. The methodology emphasised facilitators’ roles as structured observers within the educational process, supporting early awareness and informed follow-up rather than clinical detection. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to analyze qualitative responses, identifying observable engagement patterns and contextual influences.
Results: The findings showed that implementation quality and perceived detection capacity were both significantly above neutral levels (WII = 4.42, t = 14.86, p < .001; DCI = 3.73, t = 6.03, p < .001). Qualitative analysis revealed themes of expressive art as a safe medium for non-verbal communication, the emergence of psychosocial markers through engagement patterns, and the influence of environmental conditions on observation quality. These results suggest the workshop’s preventive and screening-supportive value, supporting early awareness and informed follow-up within existing school support systems rather than diagnostic identification.
Conclusion: Expressive art workshops can serve as ethical, non-intrusive, and supportive practices that enhance existing psychosocial support frameworks in basic education. The study’s unique contribution lies in repositioning expressive art activities as structured observation tools for facilitators within routine school settings. From an education management perspective, the approach strengthens early monitoring processes, supports facilitator observation roles, and contributes to preventive, system-level support practices aligned with safety-oriented educational frameworks.
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