Description
This paper presents findings from an arts-informed and play-based case study with two young newcomer girls in Canada that examined how they used play and personal art-making to communicate and share the personally significant from their everyday lives and experiences. Data were collected over a 3-month period through multiple methods including observations in the kindergarten classroom, video recordings and photographs of each girl’s art-making and play activities, and any accompanying conversations. Using existing understandings of young children’s play and personal art-making, as informed by sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978, 2004), creative and imaginative forms are recognised as an echo, foregrounding, memory, or communicative reconstruction of daily experiences (Bodrova & Leong, 2015; Fleer, 2019; Lindqvist, 2001).Findings revealed that these playful, creative, and imaginative activities functioned as important communication tools or prompts for conversation of ideas and perspectives, and recall of experiences and events. The activities and conversations were also mapped onto the recently developed RAISED Between Cultures model (Georgis et al., 2017) as it provided a framework for acknowledging the multiple family, community, and systemic factors that influence the development of young immigrant and refugee children. Through these creative and imaginative activities, each girl revealed a wide range of personally significant experiences, influences, barriers, and complexities connected to their culture, pre- and post-migration experiences, concepts of identity, gender roles, and family contexts. A discussion of the specific findings and how the girls understood, experienced, interpreted, and navigated their childhood experiences, and considerations for us as adult outsiders will be highlighted.
| Period | 12 Jul 2022 → 13 Jul 2022 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Children and Childhoods Conference |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Ipswich, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |