Résumés
Abstract
In this article I hypothesize that the role of the pre-application portfolio review goes beyond an assessment of an individual’s readiness for a postsecondary program, but also offers important insight for the prospective applicant into program culture and student experience, providing helpful information to guide them toward a postsecondary offering.
My central research question, which has evolved from my lens as a recruiter for NSCAD University and Nova Scotia Community College to arts education researcher, is:
How could a pre-application portfolio review affect the art maker when submitting post-secondary portfolio applications and choosing a postsecondary path?
On top of the academic requirements typical of postsecondary institutions, each institution and, in some cases, each program within an institution has written its own requirements for the portfolio portion of its application. As these requirements are conceived internally, they may present a window into the values and preferences of their faculty, and by extension the institution, as well as the limits of studio facilities. Engaging in a portfolio review is a way for prospective students to get feedback prior to finalizing and submitting their portfolio for application. At its best, the review is a critical support for learners and an institutional tool for recruitment and retention. What it also does, but may not always acknowledge, is offer students, for the first time in their careers, an opportunity for a one-to-one presentation of their work and lives, which can be fraught with uncertainty and a desire for direction and acknowledgement that their work and hopes are valid and worthy.
Parties annexes
Bibliography
- Blaikie, F., Schönau, D., & Steers, J. (2004). Preparing for portfolio assessment in art and design: A study of the opinions and experiences of exiting secondary school students in Canada, England and the Netherlands. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 23(3), 302–315. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-8070.2004.00409.x
- Elliott, R., & Timulak, L. (2005). Descriptive and interpretive approaches to qualitative research. In J. Miles & P. Gilbert (Eds.). A handbook of research methods for clinical and health psychology (pp. 147-160). Oxford. Online edition, Oxford Academic 2015. https://doi.org/10.1093/med:psych/9780198527565.003.0011
- Gardner, H. (1990). Art education and human development. Getty Publications.
- Getzels, J. W., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1976). The Creative Vision: A longitudinal study of problem finding in art. Wiley.
- Hoover, E. (2015, January 19). An artist draws a path to college. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com
- Macdonald, M. (2025). The pre-application portfolio review: A dialogic conversation between postsecondary institution and prospective student. Master’s Thesis, NSCAD. Thesis_Meghan_Macdonald_2025 - Google Drive
- Maguire, D. (2015). Transitioning from secondary school to art college – are guidelines for entrance portfolios an institutional barrier to visual arts higher education in Ireland? Visual Inquiry, 4(1), 63–78. https://doi.org/10.1386/vi.4.1.63_1
- National Portfolio Day Association (n.d.). About national portfolio day events. https://nationalportfolioday.org/about-national-portfolio-days
- O’Donoghue, D. (2009). Predicting performance in art college: How useful are the entry portfolio and other variables in explaining variance in first year marks? International Journal of Art & Design Education, 28(1), 82–106. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-8070.2009.01595.x
- O’Donoghue, D. (2011). Has the art college entry portfolio outlived its usefulness as a method of selecting students in an age of relational, collective and collaborative art practice? International Journal of Education and the Arts, 12(3), 1–27.
- Terrell, S. (2012). Mixed-Methods Research Methodologies. The Qualitative Report, 17(1), 254-280. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2012.1819

