Description
Creative arts facilitate opportunities for young children to develop imagination and creativity (Paris & Hay, 2020); construct narratives and express aspects of their identity, gender and/or culture (Jamison, 2022); communicate knowledge and learning (Clark, 2017); and develop emotional understandings and expressions of feelings (Lindsay, 2016). Despite this recognition of the creative arts in supporting young children’s wholistic development, challenges exist between acknowledgement and classroom provision and practice of creative arts in early childhood (EC). A significant barrier is that many teachers lack confidence with creative arts pedagogies, content knowledge, and skill to engage children in high quality experiences (Lindsay, 2016). Engaging in professional learning, however, has been shown to have a strong positive impact on teacher practice, skill development, and confidence, especially in the creative arts (Bautista et al., 2015; Powell, 2019).The research study presented explored existing EC creative arts classroom experiences, pedagogies, and practices and how planning and implementation were enhanced through a co-design approach between educators and researchers. Key findings are drawn from a range of data including researcher observations, children’s comments about their creative works, educator interviews, co-design planning meetings, and educator reflections. Findings will be discussed in relation to the implications for educator practice, children’s engagement, and educator confidence to plan, deliver, and evaluate quality creative arts experiences. Findings will inform the development of an EC creative arts teaching toolkit with relevant professional development resources to support educators in developing confidence and positive attitudes towards planning and implementing arts experiences to transform young children’s engagement, self-expression, and meaning-making.
| Period | 3 Dec 2024 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Annual Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Conference: Education research in a changing world |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Sydney, Australia, New South WalesShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | National |