Opening the Door
Experience, Change and Legacy from the Kids’ Own Being and Belonging Early Years Project.
An Independent Research Report by Researcher Ă ine McKenna April 2013
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Key Findings • • • • • • • • •
All parents reported that their children enjoyed the Being and Belonging workshops. Parents who participated fully in the workshops with their children revealed a deep understanding of the importance of using an open process based approach while conducting visual investigations with their children (2/6 parents). These parents attended Helen’s & Maree’s groups. The parents who demonstrated the deepest levels of learning were parents who reported being open to the arts experience from the outset. These parents were not aware that adults were not to direct the creative process prior to attending the Being & Belonging workshops. Therefore this learning was completely new to these parents and yet this understanding is essential for facilitating creative expression in children. This evidence suggests that arts workshops delivered by professional artists within Parent & Toddler group settings may provide a context to facilitate adaptive changes in family learning dynamics. All interviewed attendees from all 3 parent & toddler groups had now integrated the arts into their home play environments. Parent understanding of an open process based approach was not evident from the parents who were interviewed from Naomi’s group. This seemed to have been related to the fact that Naomi’s workshop offered a very different quality and scale of arts experience from the other artists. Naomi’s workshop according to the development worker left a lasting legacy on the parent & toddler group itself, as they now have their own arts workshop each week where parents support their children on their creative journey.
Key Directions for Future Research 1. Observations of the artists’ actual practice by researchers is the next step in this research process. 2. Careful consideration needs to be given to innovatively designing rigorous studies that can begin to explore the implications of the artists’ pedagogy for informing pedagogical practice within the Early Childhood sector. 3. Barriers to active parent participation need to be more fully understood if this research is to support the artists in their attempts to understand parents’ initial resistance to active participation in larger group contexts.
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Introduction
tive years, when parents are the primary and sometimes the sole educators of their children. This project aimed to tap the potential of the parent child relationship by offering a quality based arts experience in order to begin building a culture of mutual respect and understanding both within the homes The aims of the Being and Belonging project were and within the parent & toddler communities. to celebrate creativity, diversity, inclusion and family learning. It was hoped that this project would The Being and Belonging model of arts practice initiate the building of a north-south interagency suggests that the natures of the human interaction framework that could support a culture of mutual dynamics during the arts workshops are the key respect and understanding, both within the fam- mediators of a quality arts experience, although ily homes and within the wider community. The enticing stimulating materials are also important! idea was to introduce an aesthetic dimension into In other words, the nature of the human engagethe Parent & Toddler groups through the introduc- ment during the creative processes may facilitate tion of arts workshops for both the parents and or impede the development of an individual’s the toddlers. This project was a pilot, it was about creative expression. The ability to freely and honexploring how introducing an ‘aesthetic vibration’ estly express the self is dynamically connected to into the Parent & Toddler groups might have the an individual’s ability to appreciate and respect potential for activating human development and the expression of others (CECDE, 2006). This stance improving the quality of human interactions with- identifies the quality of human engagement durin those groups. Vecchi describes the aesthetic di- ing creative processes as the key mediator for developing a sense of love for the self identity and for mension of education as: the identity of the other. The model for optimum “the process of empathy relating the self to things engagement that is currently being proposed by and things to each other. It is like a slim thread or as- the NCCA (2009) is known as the ‘pedagogy of piration to quality that makes us choose one word mutuality’ (Bruner, 1999). This model has been seover another, the same for a colour or shade, a cer- lected because it has been found to be associated tain piece of music, a mathematical formula or the with the most fertile learning interactions for hutaste of a food. It is an attitude of care and attention man development. Malaguzzi the founder of the for the things we do, a desire for meaning; it is curios- Reggio approach articulated it like this: ity and wonder; it is the opposite of indifference and carelessness, of conformity, of absence of participa- “Creativity becomes more visible when adults try to be more attentive to the cognitive processes of chiltion and feeling.” (Vecchi, 2010, p.5) dren than to the results they achieve in various fields These empathetic or perspective taking processes of doing and understanding.” are especially open to nurture during the forma3
Comment
This attentiveness to process, also known as an empathetic attitude, is what the artist aims to inspire in both the children and the parents during the arts workshops. Vecchi (2010) articulates it like this: “An empathetic attitude, the sympathy or antipathy towards something we do not investigate indifferently, produces a relationship with what brings us to introduce a ‘beat of life’ to explorations we carry out. This ‘beat of life’ is what often solicits intuitions and connections between disparate elements to generate new creative processes.”(p. 8)
pleasure and the power to seduce can become an ‘activator of learning’. Artists who listen to children intuitively understand how to design environments that entice children to engage with them. This approach nurtures children’s creative expression, children’s sense of agency, as well as their sense of empathy, which is characterised by the ability to imagine the perspective of another. Artists who work in the Early Years utilise ‘aesthetic vibration’ to facilitate visual investigations using process based approaches that utilise intersubjectivity, collaboration and a co-construction of meaning during the learning journeys. The pedagogy of mutuality encompasses a child lead process where the adult aims to capture the perspective of the child through careful observations of what they do, as well as engagement in meaningful dialogues in order to understand ‘the mind of the child’. Based on an understanding of the child’s perspective and on the child’s interests the adult then collaborates sensitively and respectfully with the child in their learning processes, scaffolding where necessary, always being mindful to nurture the child’s sense of agency.
Psychological research has elucidated the potential for learning that emanates from the different styles of environments that children have the opportunities to engage in and interact with (Heft, 1988; Moore, 1985; Smith & Connolly, 1980). Current conceptualisations of children’s adaptive development are being shaped by the socio-ecological perspective and in particular the hypothesis that learning emanates from interactional and reciprocal relations in human environment interactions (Moore, 1985). The model of mutuality as proposed by Bruner strikes a balance between the adult directed model of arts practice that is currently the predominant model in Irish and Northern Irish Preschools and schools (Bennett, 2005) and the laissez–faire free-play model that was proposed by Piaget.
Within the ethos of the project parents were recognised as the primary educators of their children; essentially parents were viewed as the primary sculptors of their children’s attitudes both towards themselves and their sense of agency as well as their attitudes towards others. The title of the project reflects both this development of being, as well as the child and parents’ sense of belonging within their broader community. This project was about artists creating an ‘aesthetic vibration’ within the parent & toddler groups for both parents and
Artists therefore are perfectly placed in communities to facilitate the shift towards this ‘pedagogy of mutuality’ both within families and learning communities. They also understand how ‘aesthetic vibration’ which encompasses sensory perception, 4
children in order to nourish and support the kinds of knowledge not based uniquely on information. The artists aimed to create stimulating spaces where children and parents could immerse themselves in creative processes and where parents could learn about the optimal human interaction dynamics that facilitate satisfying collaborative learning investigations with their children. The Being and Belonging project introduced an aesthetic dimension or ‘vibration’ into the toddler group experiences, to shake things up a little, to add another dimension to the children’s play experiences and to see if the parents would be seduced by what they saw. It was about introducing the artist’s ‘beat of life’ encompassed by their attitude of empathy and to facilitate the development of the pedagogy of mutuality within the family homes and Parent & Toddler community. The arts workshops aimed to facilitate the parent’s recognition of the children’s perspectives in the processes of early arts experiences, in other words it aspired to ‘change attitudes’. The ability of parents and educators to ‘tune into’ the perspectives of the children during these creative processes lays the foundation for facilitating playful, meaningful, collaborative, sensory and visual investigations. The Being and Belonging project also aimed to support a culture of mutual understanding both within the family home and within the wider community. Empathy is the key ingredient for the nurture of mutual understanding and intercultural competence, which is the ability to respect and communicate with people from other backgrounds and cultures (Hammer, Bennet &
Wiseman, 2003). The basic prerequisites for the development of intercultural competence are the ability to express one’s own way of thinking as well as the possession of an attitude of empathy in order to understand that different people have different perspectives and different ways of expressing those perspectives. Arts workshops offer a wonderful firsthand learning experience that facilitates an understanding and an appreciation for this natural diversity in human expression. This project also incorporated a research strand in order to try and understand the impact of the project from the artists’, parents’ and community developers’ perspectives. The findings from this research will aim to inform future arts practice in both parent & toddler groups and ECCE settings.
Method Qualitative research methods lend themselves gracefully to the task of unearthing the meanings that people assign to their experiences. The methods used to qualitatively probe the parents’ interview data following the Being & Belonging project included (a) developing codes, categories, and themes inductively rather than imposing predetermined classifications to the data (Glaser, 1978), (b) generating working hypotheses or assertions (Erikson, 1986) from the data and then exploring these accounts to establish whether these hypotheses were consistent across parents and across toddler groups, and (c) analyzing the artists’ case studies from their perspectives and then utilising data triangulation to assess the fit between all three sets of evidence (artists, parents, development workers). 5
Participants
Data Sources
The three artists participating in the research, namely Naomi Draper (Castlefinn parent & toddler), Maree Hensey (Cavan parent & toddler) and Helen Sharp (Derrylin parent & toddler) prepared a case study of their toddler group experiences. Follow up interviews were conducted with two parents from each of their respective parent & toddler groups (6 parents in total were interviewed). In addition to this, two of the community development staff who were involved with two of the parent & toddler groups, namely Castlefinn and Cavan were also interviewed.
Documentary evidence from the artists’ case studies, edited versions of which are presented within this document, were analysed. Follow up interviews were conducted with the six consenting parents. Each of the parents was asked the following questions: 1. How their child/children experienced the Being and Belonging project? 2. How they themselves experienced the Being and Belonging project? 3. What was it that the artist brought to the toddler group during the ‘Being and Belonging’ workshops?
Procedure
Follow up interviews were conducted with two community development staff who worked as toddler group co-ordinators. These co-ordinators were in continuous contact with all the parents who attended the workshops. Each of the development officers were asked the following questions: 1. What did the artist bring that was unique to the toddler group setting? 2. Has there been a legacy from the Being and Belonging project?
Each of the three artists was asked to write a case study detailing their ‘Being & Belonging’ project. In addition to this Kids’ Own approached the parent & toddler group leaders and organised for the researcher to have access to the contact phone numbers of two consenting parents who had attended each of the three toddler groups. The researcher then organised a time with each parent that suited for a follow up interview. The same procedure was employed for the two development officers who were interviewed. The participating development officers were involved with the Castlefinn and Cavan parent & toddler groups.
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Data Analysis and Writing
tion (Mahoney, 1991), an active search for disconfirming evidence was conducted. This was essential to achieving rigor (Erickson, 1986). Data were combed to disconfirm certain assertions made as result of the analysis. Discrepant case analysis was The analytic process was based on immersion in also conducted to unearth discrepancies within the data and repeated sortings, codings and com- the data and to highlight these for further invesparisons. Analysis began with open coding, which tigations. is the examination of minute sections of the text made up of individual words, phrases and sentences. This was followed by axial coding which puts data back together in new ways by making connections between a category and its subcat- The parent interview transcripts were read and reegories. Selective coding encompassed the inte- read in order to conduct a qualitative analysis on grative process of choosing “the core category and parents’ perceptions of their children’s responses to systematically relating it to other categories, vali- the Being and Belonging art workshops. Three catdating those relationships (by searching for con- egories of responses emerged from the data and firming and disconfirming evidence), and filling these were mainly observations and perceptions of in the categories that needed further refinement their children’s affective responses to: and development” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p.116). Codes and categories were sorted, compared, and 1. The activities contrasted until saturated – that is, until analysis 2. The artists as people produced no new codes or categories and when 3. The fruits of their creative journeys all the data were accounted for in the core categories of the theoretical model. The parent transcripts were then re-analysed in
Results
Accountability was achieved through ongoing consultations with participants and colleagues and by maintaining an audit trail that outlined the research process and the evolution of codes, categories and theory (Miles & Huberman, 1984). In order to further ensure accountability, investigator triangulation was utilised and a second researcher inspected some of the main findings and examined the data trail in order to ensure that the findings accurately reflected the data. In order to deal with the human cognitive bias towards confirma-
order to understand how they themselves experienced the Being and Belonging workshops. Five main response categories emerged from the data and these are outlined in Table 2. The individual data patterns suggested that these interacted with each other to determine the depth of learning that took place. This was also the case in relation to the integration of that learning into the home or parent & toddler environments in the aftermath of the project.
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These interactions are illustrated in Figure 1. Parents reported: Their affective and cognitive response to the sessions, which appeared to interact with all the other categories that emerged namely: 1. Participation, which was characterised as mainly vicarious versus active participation. 2. What they learned from the artists during the Being and Belonging project. 3. Their level of attitude change which was inextricably linked to their learning. Figure 1. Theoretical Model for Parent Learning during the Being 4. Integrating quality arts practice into their home or & Belonging Project. parent & toddler environments.
Table 1. Mothers’ perceptions of their children’s affective responses to the activities, the artists as people and to the fruits of their creative journeys. The activities
The artists as people
“They enjoyed the stories.” “Both of my children loved it” “My older boy (age3) did not want to get involved at first but once he did-he really enjoyed it” “The kids really enjoyed it” “They got all buzzed up” “My daughter loved it” “Even my baby got in on it” “She especially loved the day that Helen bought the tree.”
“The children loved her” “Any day Helen came, Amy was delighted to see her” “Helen was very good with Amy she spoke and interacted with all children and they were happy to be in her company”
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Fruits of their creative journeys “They loved all the beautiful things they made” “Daddy I painted a tree today”
The model outlined in Figure 1 offers a brief visual summary of the processes of engagement, learning and change that emerged during the analysis of the parents’ data. The data patterns are explicitly shown in Table 2. This model suggests that parents’ cognitive and affective responses to the sessions determined their level of co-participation and collaboration during the sessions. Table 2 clearly shows that parent learning varied considerably by toddler group and this seemed to have been related directly to their level or expected level of participation in the activities. Table 2. Categories of learning for each of the six parents from the three parent & toddler groups identified by number and visiting artist Affective & Cognitive Response Parent 1: Naomi Draper “I enjoyed Being & Belonging as much as the kids.”
Participation
Learning/ Attitude Change “My child still talks about all the stories and all the things she made during Naomi’s time at the parent & toddler group.”
Optional participation
Integration of learning “The group is quieter now that Naomi’s visits have come to an end. They still have a creative activity at toddler group but they no longer have story-time or songs.” “Naomi gave each parent a dvd at the end so the memory of the Bear Hunt journey can live on.”
Parent 2: Optional participation Naomi Draper “I could not praise the arts workshops enough.”
“She made use of so much simple stuff – cotton wool, bubble wrap, leaves.”
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Affective & Cognitive Response Parent 3: Maree Hensey “I had wanted to start painting at home with the children myself, but I never got round to it.” “I welcomed Maree’s guidance because I did not know this before.”
Participation Full parent and child participation.They would all sit together in a circle on the floor.
Learning/ Attitude Change “Marie explained to the parents that these activities were about the children’s own unique interactions with the materials and there would be no external structure forced on the children by the adults or the environment.” “I learned that creative time with children is not about saying let’s paint a house.” “She showed us how to get down to the children’s level and let the experience be about the ‘opportunity’ to interact with the materials in their own way.” “It was ‘total liberty’ and I would never have thought about introducing an activity like this in that way. It was so liberating for them.”
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Integration of learning “I did buy paints and a large cover to protect the floor – I just have not had time to paint yet.”
Affective & Cognitive Response Parent 4: Maree Hensey “It was a good opportunity for me and my child.”
Participation
Learning/ Attitude Change Full parent and child par- “I have purchased these ticipation. They would materials for the home all sit together in a circle so my child has opportuon the floor. nities to play with them in the home environ“I hope something like ment.” this happens again.”
Integration “At toddler group she still asks can she go upstairs to do some painting but now that Maree is gone, there is no painting in the room upstairs.”
“I enjoyed the activities because my child enjoyed them.” Parent 5: Vicarious _ observing Helen Sharp through the open door. “When she came first I thought it was going to be about adult participation but I was relieved because it was about child participation – so I did not need to worry about them.” “My daughter loved it!! It gave her the opportunity to do things that I do not do with her. Even my baby got in on it too!! It was nice to be able to get the kids involved in something and not to have to watch them because they were being supervised.”
“Helen used very simple but alternative ideas like rolling wall paper out on the ground – she made great use of the small space that she had. The children loved her – I couldn’t believe how much they loved her. She brought very accessible materials like sponges and showed us that all you really needed was paint, the rest of the materials we would have had at home anyway.”
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“Afterwards my sister bought her paints. Before that I would have avoided buying her paints because I believed they were too messy.”
Affective & Cognitive Response Parent 6: Helen Sharp “I just enjoyed watching my daughter create – she seemed so happy. Of course her good clothes got ruined on the first day, maybe we should have had aprons.” “Any day that Helen came she was delighted to see her. It gave her something else to do than play with the toys.” “She especially loved the day that Helen brought the tree. The children put ribbons on the tree and painted it.”
Participation
Learning/ Attitude Change “I was with Amy 99% of “Helen was very good the time and I helped with Amy – she spoke her paint the tree.” and interacted with the children and they were happy in her company.” “Helen told me that she suspected that Amy may become an architect or something because she had such an eye for detail.” “Helen’s visits gave me good ideas for the summer holidays. I could roll out a long strip of paper on the table and let them paint.” “I would never have thought of painting a tree.” “All of Amy’s paintings were meaningful to her. Her own personality came out – they were her unique expression. Helen took an interest in all the children. She would ask Amy, ‘And what are you painting now?’” 12
Integration “It showed us cheap ways of entertaining our children.”
These findings however are not straight forward because there were issues of heterogeneity among the groups of parents who were attending the different parent & toddler groups. This was further compounded by the unique approach of each artist and issues such as available space within the groups themselves. In order to further probe these issues the artists’ case studies were analysed in order to understand if the particular strategy that each artist used for engaging parents resulted from: • Choice • From practical considerations that arose in order to adapt their arts practice to the environment • The preferences of the parents who attended the parent & toddler group. • During this analytic procedure data triangulation was used in order to establish the level of consistency and inconsistency among the reports of artists, parents and development workers.
Analysis of Naomi Draper’s Case Study
ries of their toddler group history and their home environments. One of the parents reported that she had learned from Naomi how to make use of ‘simple stuff’ such as cotton wool, bubble wrap and leaves to create stimulating open-ended play environments for her children. The other parent mentioned the dvd that Naomi had made for each participant as a reminder of their ‘Bear Hunt’ experience. It is very apparent however, that Naomi did not adopt a very didactic approach with the parents. Instead she chose to create a stimulating arts environment that aimed to give ‘the toys’ a run for their money. Naomi captured her intention to match the toys entertainment value in her catch phrase ‘Naomi Versus the Toys.’ Naomi outlined during the case study that the environment consisted of a massive gym space and half of this space was filled with toys. She described how her initial reaction was “to create a smaller space and to create somewhere where we could have a really focused activity.”
She described that she tested this space during her first session and although it was quite successful, she suspected that the ‘aesthetic vibration’ was As can be seen from Table 2, participation in Nao- not strong enough and that the kids really wanted mi’s arts workshops was optional for both parents to veer off and play with the toys. She documented and children. Parents reported that both they that she understood this from the children’s perthemselves and their children thoroughly enjoyed spective the workshops. Parents reported that their children still spoke about the stories and the things “there was a lot of distraction and they just wanted to they made, which suggested that the arts expe- run around the big open space and play with the ball rience had become integrated into both the sto- and it was natural for them to feel like that.” 13
One of the recurring themes that runs through Naomi’s work is the spaces that people build around themselves and how they respond physically and emotionally to them. Naomi is naturally interested in how the environment influences children, so it was natural that she looked to the environment, rather than to the children to understand how to create a quality experience for them. She understood that within her setting she needed to create an arts environment that was as enticing to the children as the opportunities that the toys and the big ball offered for adventure, discovery and sheer delight during toddler group time.
“I feel like I go down to their level and I become playful with them.”
Kate Wilson suggested to Naomi that she should create a journey through the space. Naomi found the children’s book ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ and thus the idea for her project was born. Naomi decided that she would design an obstacle course for the children that would incorporate a focused arts activity each week.
“If the children decided to leave at any point: That was fine! If they did not start: They were free to join in when they so chose to do so!”
Naomi describes that she does not like to direct activities but that she adopts a gentler more collaborative approach with the children, where they choose freely to participate. It is obvious however that Naomi uses the environmental design to increase the ‘aesthetic vibration’ to high intensity. Naomi uses the environment and the use of routine and repetition to entice the children but once they are enticed all the processes they engage with are about the children’s choices.
Naomi saw it as natural that they would come and go from the process.
Careful consideration of the data surrounding Each week Naomi’s sessions would start with a big Naomi Draper’s approach to early arts practice blanket on the ground. All the children would hop suggests that she offers quality experiences that onto the blanket take off their shoes, pretend they aim to maximize ‘aesthetic vibration’ while respectwere sleeping and then they would wake up. Nao- ing children’s sense of agency both at the level of mi would then ask them to participation and process. Naomi documented how she benefitted greatly from the support of “Look into your hands. Can you see stories in your the leaders and the parents. She acknowledged hands?” that their level of participation increased gradually over the six week project. Open communication Some children would see ‘rabbits’ and some would was established and Naomi documented how parsee ‘bears’ and then Naomi would begin reading ents offered feedback each week and explained the Bear Hunt story and the adventure through how the children as a group as well as the indithe obstacle course would begin in the same way vidual children were benefitting from the process each week. Naomi described that when she works they were exploring. with young children 14
The follow up interview with Corina Catterson, the Development Officer at Castlefinn Partnership Initiative described Naomi’s art practice like this: “Naomi not only worked with the children but she also facilitated parent and toddler involvement in the activities. The artist facilitated quality parent child interactions. Her presence as a facilitator shaped parents’ attitudes towards ‘messy play’ – the parents actually became comfortable with the mess. There was something ‘special’ about Naomi’s presence as a facilitator, which helped to re-connect parents with their own sense of playfulness. There was a definite change in the parents over the six weeks.
parents and their children for the six weeks. Both of the parents that were interviewed reported being very open to Maree’s arts workshop from the outset. According to one of the interviewed parents, Maree adopted a didactic approach in order to explain to the parents their role in the workshop. Maree herself described how she used her sense of humour to make the atmosphere light and welcoming. She suggests that a smile, a laugh and fun are very important components for breaking down barriers and opening channels for creative expression. “Maree explained to us that these activities were about the children’s own unique interactions with the materials and there would be no external structure forced on the children by the adults or the environment.”
Naomi’s programme was a sequential programme that encompassed routine, novelty and structure. She showed the parents how they could make use of natural, inexpensive resources that they would have access to in their own homes. She also demonstrated how every area of the hall could be utilised during “I learned that creative time with children is not about group time.” saying let’s paint a house.”
Analysis of Maree Hensey’s Case Study
“She showed us how to get down to the children’s level and let the experience be about the ‘opportunity’ to interact with the materials in their own way.” Maree described her approach as open and process led, she aimed to create an environment for the children to creatively express themselves and to educate parents so that they would be able to support them on this creative journey. Her approach also provided the parents with the opportunity to try out new skills and ideas so that they could unearth their own creativity. The parents reported being open to Maree’s guidance.
Participants for Maree’s arts workshops were selected using a lottery system. The decision was made to hold the Being and Belonging sessions in a different room to the parent & toddler session. The room that was available was ‘a board room where the furniture was dismantled and the tables were folded away to create a safe environment and to facilitate free thinking and creative response.’ Maree decided to work with the same group of 6-8 15
“I welcomed Maree’s guidance because I did not really understand what ‘pedagogy of mutuality’ know this before.” feels like. One of the parents revealed that she just wished that all the parents had the opportunity to “I enjoyed the activities because my child enjoyed experience the arts workshops. them.” The follow up interview with Nora, who works This workshop approach appeared to have a deep for the family outreach service in Cavan revealed learning impact on both parents who attended that many of the parents attending Maree’s group and the quotes clearly depict that the interviewed may have been experiencing social isolation and parents grasped the concept of‘pedagogy of mu- the parent & toddler group offered them a social tuality.’ Both parents reported that they had pur- lifeline. There was one young child who attended chased the materials that they had been intro- Maree’s workshop who was described by Nora as duced to in the workshop. This is reported in Table having a tendency to be extremely hyperactive 2, and this illustrates a change in both attitude and and his attention span was limited. His mother behaviour that was brought into the family home initially asked Maree if he could leave the session environment. There seems however to have been after 10 minutes, if that was necessary. However, as no lasting impact on the parent & toddler group it- the weeks progressed he was staying longer and self as this workshop involved a selected group of longer and by the end he stayed for the full hour. participants who attended a workshop in a sepa- This represented a real breakthrough for his mothrate room. er, Nora reported. In addition to that, Nora confirmed that all the parents who attended Maree’s Maree described how she listened to the language workshop are reporting facilitating more creative of the toddlers’ mark making. This deep listening activities for their children at home following the echoes Malaguzzi’s concept of paying attention to Being and Belonging workshops. the cognitive processes of the children. For a toddler drawing and mark making is a powerful tool it is a language made with immediacy and directness. Drawing charts every movement every action every sequence of thoughts. It is a language without words. Actions happen rhythmically and patterns emerge. Both adult and child participation in Helen’s workCareful consideration of data surrounding Maree shops were optional. Helen described how the Hensey’s workshops suggests that the children decision to introduce ‘messy play’ into the toddler enjoyed it and the parents had an opportunity group emerged from her consultations with the to unearth their own creativity and to learn and parents on her first visit to the setting. 16
Analysis of Helen Sharp’s Case Study
She described that what transpired from en’s group verified her account of this reluctance “that first meeting was the ‘strong feeling’ from par- on the parents’ part to become involved in the ents that children at this age did not get much oppor- ’messy play’ initially. tunity for messy play.” “When she came first I thought it was going to be Helen suggested that the parents about adult participation but I was relieved because it was about child participation – so I did not need to “could not face offering their children this type of play worry about them.” experience at home because they could not face the thought of getting paint on the walls or carpets.” “My daughter loved it!! It gave her the opportunity to do things that I do not do with her. Even my baby got Helen faced serious challenges in terms of space in on it too!! It was nice to be able to get the kids infor her workshop as well as challenges in relation volved in something and not to have to watch them to engaging parents to participate in the work- because they were being supervised.” shops. Helen documented that she understood and re“The only space within the building that was anyway spected the parents’ perspectives and she opted suitable for an arts workshop was a small adjoining for a vicarious approach to adult leaning and atspace that was normally used for hairdressing (and titude change. when the children were there nappy changing) with lino and a sink. There were stacked chairs and cof- ”I fully understood and respected this and I set up the fee tables and other things that could not be moved arts space with the doors open so that the parents in there too, so initially the workshops took place could see what their children were doing and had the around a single folding table.” opportunity to watch. In fact more often than not, that was enough to entice the parents to join in.” The parents at Helen’s workshops were not necessarily keen to take part in ‘the messy play.’ The data patterns in Table 2 show that one of the Helen documented that within her group the hon- parents spent 99% of her time in Helen’s workshop est feeling was that with her daughter. Her interview suggested that she had a deep understanding of the artistic pro“……..parents were there to have a couple of hours cess following Helen’s workshop. to relax, chat, have a cup of tea and be supported. It was also precious time for their children to be able to “All of Amy’s paintings were meaningful to her. Her socialise and play independently and safely.” own personality came out – they were her unique expression. Helen took an interest in all the children, she The interviews from the parents that attended Hel- would ask Amy to tell her about her painting.” 17
“Helen told me that she suspected that Amy may what she observed through the open door. become an architect or something because she had “Helen used very simple but alternative ideas like rollsuch an eye for detail.” ing wall paper out on the ground – she made great use of the small space that she had. The children This parent also suggested that the workshop had loved her – I couldn’t believe how much they loved resulted in learning for her and that she was going her. She brought very accessible materials like spongto integrate this learning into her home environ- es and showed us that all you really needed was paint ment. the rest of the materials we would have had at home anyway.” “Helen’s visits gave me good ideas for the summer holidays. I could roll out a long strip of paper on the This parent did report some degree of attitude table and let them paint.” change following the workshop and there are now paints in the family home. “I would never have thought of painting a tree.” “Afterwards my sister bought her paints. Before that I This parent seemed to warm to Helen’s art work- would have avoided buying her paints because I beshops quite quickly. She reported how she pro- lieved they were too messy.” cessed the goings on at Helen’s first workshop. Careful consideration of the data from Helen “I just enjoyed watching my daughter create – she Sharp’s workshop suggests that she faced a douseemed so happy. Of course her good clothes got ble challenge in her group. It is the considered ruined on the first day, maybe we should have had opinion of the researcher that Helen adapted exaprons.” tremely well to the space issue and her interest in the children and their love for her created a very The second parent that was interviewed from Hel- strong ‘aesthetic vibration’ in that small cramped en’s group explained that room with the lino and the sink. The most striking feature about the data patterns that emerged from “When she came first I thought it was going to be Helen’s workshop related to the natural affection about adult participation but I was relieved because that the children felt for Helen. The parents used it was about child participation – so I did not need to the word ‘love.’ They were struck by the interest worry about them.” and attention that Helen paid to their children and indeed to all the children. Both parents reported She explained how she had time to relax because learning some things from watching Helen but the her children were being supervised. Helen chose depth of this learning appeared to be far deeper to leave the door open so that all parents could for the parent who participated 99% of the time participate vicariously. This parent also detailed with her child. 18
Discussion of Findings Child Participation and Response The follow up interviews that were conducted with parents who attended the Being and Belonging workshops confirmed that all the children who had the opportunity to attend the workshops enjoyed the activities. Table 1 displayed in the results section shows that all parents perceived that their children enjoyed the processes that their children engaged with during the sessions. Adult participation, attitude change and learning analysis of the case studies and the interview transcripts revealed that the level and type of adult participation varied by group.
in the arts workshops that took place in an independent room. Within Maree’s workshops all the adults were expected to co-participate with their children and Maree explained the type of engagement and support that was preferable during the workshops. The interviewed adults reported learning a lot from Maree in terms of paying attention to the children’s cognitive processing during the activities and it being about the children’s processes. Helen Sharp had to adapt to the culture of her parent & toddler group setting where many parents viewed the session as their social outlet and associated it with a time to relax. Helen ran her arts workshop in an adjoining room to the toddler group. She left the door open so that parents who did not actively participate in the session had the option of participating vicariously in the workshop. Both interviewed parents described levels of attitude following the workshop and the parent who took part in the activities outlined how she learned from Helen that the paintings were unique expressions of her child’s personality.
The Relationship Between Participation and Adult Learning
Naomi Draper encouraged parents to participate but ultimately their participation was optional. As the weeks progressed adult participation increased in her workshops at the level of their coparticipation with their children in the processes. Naomi’s parents reported enjoying her workshops and learning how simple ordinary materials could Maree was given the freedom within her group to choose how many parents she would work with. be used to create. In addition to this she was given a separate room Maree Hensey used a lottery system to select 8 for the creative activities. This meant that she was parents along with their children to participate able to set up the room as she saw fit and create an 19
environment that would facilitate parent and child son to the learning evident in those who attended engagement as well as creative expression. Ma- Maree’s workshops. However Maree’s workshop ree explicitly explained to the parents about sup- had no effect on the parent & toddler group dyporting a child’s process but not directing it. The namics as the experience was separate from the parents that were interviewed from these groups parent & toddler group. One of the parents from both learned about the nature of open and free Maree’s group reported that her daughter still asks process based expression and had subsequently to go upstairs to paint at the parent & toddler group integrated this learning into their home environ- and she has to explain that there are no paints bements. cause Maree is gone. Another parent from Maree’s Naomi and Helen both faced issues of hav- group said that she just wished that all parents had ing to adapt their practice to challenging environ- received the opportunity to participate. ments. For Naomi she had a massive gym space Helen faced the largest obstacles! Inadethat was half filled with luring exciting toys. The quate space and little initial enthusiasm from parnumbers attending Naomi’s group varied but she ents who finally decided they wanted ‘messy play!!’ could have had up to 12 parents on any given week. Helen’s workshops were enjoyed by all the children Naomi entered a group with an established rou- and the interviewed parents spoke about how tine where adult participation in art activities was much the children loved Helen and how delighted not the norm. Naomi opted to creatively design they were to see her each week. The parent who an arts space and to make participation from both participated fully in Helen’s workshop displayed the parents and children voluntary. Naomi’s strat- the same depth of understanding of process and egy worked because as the weeks went by parents the cognitive processes of the child as they crebecame more and more involved with their chil- ate as did those who attended Maree’s workshop. dren. The interviewed parents detailed how they The second parent who watched from the adjoinhad learned to use simple everyday materials for ing room did reveal some surface learning that creative activities at home. They also mentioned was similar in content to the parents from Naomi’s that Naomi had presented them all with a dvd at workshops. Both parents revealed that paints and the end that had captured their weekly Bear Hunt messy play had made their way into their homes adventures. following Being and Belonging. The development officer reported that Naomi’s legacy in the toddler group lived on: The parents now had a weekly art activity with their children and they supported and engaged with their children during the process. The parents however, did not detail any knowledge about open process based activities during the interviews. Their learning seemed more surface or superficial in compari20
Final Comments
Theoretical Model for Parent Learning During the Being & Belonging Project The model outlined in figure 1 suggests that parents’ initial responses to the workshops were related to their level of participation. Analysis of the artists’ case studies revealed that the requirement for adult participation varied across groups. For the selected parents in Maree’s group, co-participation was required. Adult participation in Naomi’s and Helen’s groups was down to choice. It is evident that parents who participated fully in the workshops with their children revealed the deepest levels of learning during the interview. The parents who demonstrated a deep understanding of an open process based approach were from Helen’s (1) and Maree’s (1) workshops. These parents were also parents who reported being open to the arts experience from the outset and both of these parents were not aware that adults were not to direct the process prior to attending Being & Belonging. Naomi’s workshop however left a lasting legacy on the parent & toddler group itself, as they now have their own arts workshop each week where parents support their children on their creative journeys.
The Being and Belonging project seems to have been an overwhelming success based on both pleasure and learning indicators. In the introduction to this research the aims of the project were outlined. These aims were to celebrate creativity, diversity, inclusion and family learning. The arts workshops aimed to offer families a quality arts experience and to facilitate creative expression in the children. Within the workshops it was hoped to nurture the parents’ abilities to pay attention to their children’s processes and to support them on their journeys without directing them. This was described as the ’pedagogy of mutuality’ (Bruner, 1996) in the introduction. It was also acknowledged that this approach may have been new to many of the parents and this contention was supported by the data collected during the follow up interviews. “At first I did not know how it was going to work. But it went perfect – there was no right or wrong – everyone was an individual.” “I learned that creative time with children is not about saying let’s paint a house.” “She showed us how to get down to the children’s level and let the experience be about the ‘opportunity’ to interact with the materials in their own way.” “I welcomed Maree’s guidance because I did not know this before.”
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“All of Amy’s paintings were meaningful to her. Her ards for practice. The main issue that has emerged own personality came out – they were her unique ex- from this research involves consideration of stratepression.” gies to engage parents (because level of engagement seems to be related to levels of parent learnThe evidence suggests that the artists did create ing within the workshop). stimulating spaces - against the odds in Naomi’s and Helen’s cases - where children and parents On the whole it seems that following the project, could immerse themselves in creative processes. the ‘aesthetic dimension’ had been integrated It was also evident from the data outlined above, into the family learning cultures of those who atthat parents who participated fully in the work- tended. However, only one group has seen the shops learned about the optimal human interac- ‘aesthetic dimension’ become integrated into their tion dynamics that facilitate satisfying collabora- toddler group community following the sessions. tive learning investigations with their children. Full For this to take place the artist needs to work with parent participation in combination with guid- the whole group and as Naomi documented that ance from the artist seemed to have been neces- required her ‘thinking cap’, as well as her creative sary for this depth of learning to have taken place. genius, some support from her fellow artists, the Two parents out of the 6 interviewed outlined this parents, development workers and Kids’ Own, a level of new understanding following the work- story that incorporated adventures, rhythms and shops and as outlined in Figure 1, this also seemed routines, an obstacle course and finally a focused to have been related to their initial responses to art activity. The participating toddlers became the workshops, that is their openness to learning oblivious to the toys as the aesthetic vibration versus their reluctance to engage. increased. It was the toddlers who got all buzzed up every week (as one parent phrased it) to go on The findings revealed that each artist approached a bear hunt although the parents admitted that the workshops in a different way and this was de- they enjoyed it just as much as the toddlers in the termined by their personal style and situational end! However on balance the parent learning outfactors such as space as well as attitudes towards come seems to have been more apparent in the participation held by the parents. The findings parents who attended Helen’s and Maree’s groups suggest that deep learning about human interac- and the implications of these combined findings tion dynamics that support and nurture creative may inform the ingredients for the perfect cocktail expression can be learned in these contexts if the of both change in the family and group dynamic parents are open, if they participate fully and if following projects like this. they receive specific guidance from the artist. This deep learning seemed to occur when the workshops took place in an independent room. The aim of this research was to begin thinking about stand22
Conclusion Future research needs to explore how artists can optimize parent participation as this seems to be directly connected with parent learning. Each artist has their own unique way of working and this is part of what makes these projects so rich and so special. However, investigations that aim to explore broader issues that involve effective pedagogical strategies can only benefit the practice of all the artists involved as well as deepening our understanding of how to shape positive outcomes for all the participants. The issues that emerged from this research that require further investigation are issues surrounding parents’ participation and in particular understanding barriers to their engagement.
if parents’ learning from these workshops is really to be understood. The findings from this initial pilot study only involved follow up interviews with a small sample of parents but these suggest that the workshops provided contexts where parents and children celebrated creativity and diversity. This experience has had to have had an impact on the children’s developing sense of identity, as unique creators, and artists who belong to a community where open and free expression is supported, respected and nurtured by the adults. However, let’s be clear that future research needs to be characterised by carefully crafted designs. These innovative designs will need to fluidly begin to tap the key constructs so that empirically derived standardised indicators of quality can be developed for understanding and assessing quality practice in these contexts.
Limitations The funding for this research came through at the end of the project and this placed certain constraints on the researcher’s ability to fully engage with the artists’ approaches. Future research needs to be prospective if the key constructs are to be truly understood. The artists’ practice within the groups needs to be observed by at least two researchers, to ensure objectivity, if the claim that the artists’ pedagogy may be used as a model for supporting effective pedagogy within the Early Childhood sector as a whole is to be fully substantiated. Larger samples of parents will also need to be accessed and ideally interviews should be conducted prior to the beginning of the projects 23
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