Reflective Thought

This is a reflection of John Dewey's How We Think and the concept of reflective thought. This piece helped me to understand what constitutes reflective thought and I have attempted to apply Dewey's criteria for reflective thought to my own work and in particular, one belief I hold.

I believe that some performing artists are inclined to volunteer significant amounts of their time and energy to support causes that are important to them.

According to Dewey, a reflective operation is, “act of search or investigation directed toward bringing to light further facts which serve to corroborate or to nullify the suggested belief," (Dewey, 1910). So, what is the evidence, facts or truths that support this belief?

First, I have personally witnessed this volunteering behavior by at least 6 performing artists during the past 3 years. The art forms engaged in by these artists include theatre, dance, music and film. The constituencies that have for the most part been the focus of their volunteerism are marginalized individuals including emotionally challenged teens, people living below the poverty level, community members suffering financial setbacks due to job loss and groups of people who have been disenfranchised due to discrimination based on their race, gender, age or socio-economic status. The extent of this volunteerism for these six individuals ranges from 4 hours per week to 50 hours per week.

Second, although there is a paucity of research of concerning the volunteerism of performing artists there is a significant amount of research related to volunteerism. A literature review of volunteerism has identified numerous studies, many of which suggest that the motivation behind volunteerism satisfies the need to help others, also referred to as ‘other-oriented’ behavior. Studies have also reported on a strong association between volunteerism and the organizations involved in other-oriented missions. In other words, people who volunteer frequently and over long periods of time, tend to be actively engaged with organizations that share their viewpoints and passion. While these studies do not specifically reference performing artists or visual artists as a group, and therefore do not support my belief, they have established important links between volunteerism and the characteristics of other-oriented behavior as well as an association with organizations. I find it interesting to note that these characteristics (other-oriented behavior and association with organizations) appear to be characteristics of the performing artists I have witnessed.

Third, a pilot survey study of 240 New England performing artists recently conducted by the author, has identified higher levels of volunteerism with this group than exist with the general public (Cormier, 2010). The average volunteer rate for residents of Massachusetts and the United States, reported by the US Dept of Labor (Corporation for National and Community Service, 2009) ranges from 25% to 27% over the last five years. The volunteer rate of the performing artists who participated in my pilot survey study was 72%, more than two times of that reported in the national study.

In summary, I think the first and third facts referenced above (first hand witnessing and pilot study) support my belief, however the second fact referenced above (existing research) does not support by belief.

References:
Cormier, P. (2010). The volunteerism of performing artists. Unpublished pilot survey study.

Corporation for National and Community Service (2009). Volunteering in America Research Highlights. Retrieved November 3, 2009, from www.nationalservice.gov/about/role_impact/performance_research.asp.

Dewey, J. (1910). How we think. Boston: D.C. Health & Co.