This article reports on a study investigating young children’s views about learning. The researchers engaged 200 Australian children from 3 to 8 years of age in conversations about how they liked to learn. In an attempt to privilege children’s voices, the direct words of the participating children are used in the reporting of results. The children generated rich and thoughtful ideas about learning as well as factors contributing to their motivation and engagement in learning. Whereas Kindergarten children expressed a real sense of agency and self-efficacy in their learning, school-aged children expressed a strong desire for opportunities to be more actively engaged and have some control over their learning. Of concern was how quickly positive dispositions towards learning appeared to slide when children transitioned to school. The study challenges educators to find ways to listen to children in order to develop policies and practices that are responsive to children’s perspectives and create school systems in which all children, without exception, are actively engaged, motivated and exercising agency in their learning.
In the absence of a cure for dementia, there is an increasing recognition of the need to develop approaches that address its key impacts of social isolation, depressed mood, and quality of life. In response to these issues, a three-year research project entitled Playful Engagement and Dementia: assessing the efficacy of applied theatre practices for people with dementia in residential aged care facilities was developed in partnership with Wesley Mission Brisbane. The paper reports on data collected within the pilot phase of this project, offering an analysis of the play vocabularies used by two applied theatre artists who interacted, using a relational clowning approach, with 17 residents with mid-to late-stage dementia. The analysis, based on two complementary frameworks, reveals useful insights into the key features of the approach, noting those that were effective in generating 'moments' of engagement and mutual recognition. How the applied theatre artists spontaneously, reflexively, and sensitively applied these vocabularies, tailoring them to each individual's play preferences, interests, and stage of dementia is also examined.
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