Interdisciplinary Art and Science Education in the European Arctic Context

Theory
In environmental and sustainability education, the arts are increasingly understood as pedagogical practices that foster sensory, emotional, and participatory engagement with ecological issues. Artistic processes support experiential and inquiry-oriented learning, enabling embodied and relational encounters with environmental phenomena. From this perspective, learning is not limited to cognitive understanding but involves affective, material, and sensory dimensions that shape how learners relate to their environments.
In parallel, collaboration between artists and scientists has expanded markedly since the 1990s, inspiring inter- and transdisciplinary approaches that increasingly inform educational practice. Material-based practices play a central role in such art–science collaborations, offering concrete ways to explore ecological processes and phenomena. In European Arctic contexts, where many communities live in close relationship with their natural environments, artists and educators frequently work with locally sourced materials that carry ecological and cultural significance. These practices support situated, relational, and place-responsive forms of learning that are particularly relevant to sustainability education. In Finland, the national core curriculum encourages multidisciplinary learning and phenomenon-based approaches, providing a strong foundation for integrating visual arts into environmental science education while maintaining the integrity of both disciplines.
This study examines interdisciplinary art–science education in the European Arctic, focusing on how hands-on engagement with natural materials can support learning processes that integrate cognitive understanding with emotional and sensory engagement. The research asks: How do material-based art–science practices contribute to pupils’ meaning making in environmental education, and how are cognitive, emotional, and sensory dimensions of learning intertwined in these processes? The theoretical framework draws on experiential learning, embodied and relational pedagogy, and arts-based environmental education, with particular attention to material engagement and artistic symbolisation as pathways for learning.
Method
The study is grounded in art-based action research, which combines arts-based pedagogical interventions with systematic inquiry through iterative research cycles. The first author designed and facilitated multiple art-based action research cycles as part of doctoral research in art education. AS One cycle focused on experimental work with bilberries and their chemical transformations, using local ecological materials as a pedagogical resource to connect visual arts practices with emerging chemistry learning. Artistic symbolisation—such as working with colour change, visual composition, and material transformation—was used to support pupils’ exploration of ecological and chemical concepts.
Data were collected through participatory observation, children’s artworks, field notes, photographs, and semi-structured interviews with teachers and pupils. The analysis employed thematic analysis alongside close reading of pupils’ visual and multimodal expressions, allowing attention to both verbal accounts and material–visual meaning making.
Result

The findings suggest that visual arts play a particularly significant role in interdisciplinary sustainability education due to their emphasis on observation, material engagement, and visual meaning making. Practices such as drawing and painting supported pupils’ attention to environmental relationships and processes when embedded in reflective and open-ended learning contexts. Artistic work enabled pupils to integrate scientific observations with emotional and sensory experiences, fostering deeper engagement with ecological themes. Visual art practice, such as drawing and environmental art, supported pupils to explore, comprehend, interpret, and communicate environmental knowledge.
By situating art–science learning within Arctic ecocultural environments, this study contributes to emerging research in Arctic art education and sustainability education. It highlights the value of material-based, arts-integrated pedagogy for supporting holistic learning processes and offers insights into how interdisciplinary practices can address ecological understanding in culturally and environmentally situated ways.