Children are Telling - a group of researchers and developers
studies the knowledge children produce about their lives. The aim
is to move away from the traditional, objectifying approach to
children by focusing on the questions of children's participation
and co-operation. We are investigating the knowledge children have
constructed, their culture of their own and joint action among
children and adults. Children are Telling -group includes
researchers, professionals, and students working in different
fields and disciplines. The group brings together the viewpoints
of research and practice with children. The group is publishing in
Children are Telling - series, edited by Edita and Stakes.
The culture created by children and
children’s participation -seminar Thursday, June 17th
2004 at STAKES -house
Seminar
papers (publ. on web in 15.09.04)
Annu Tuovila. 2003. "I Play Entirely for My Own Joy!"
A longitudinal study on music making and music school studies of 7
to 13-year-old children. Sibelius Academy. DocMus Department.
Dissertation Abstract
->
Storycrafting is
a method invented in Finland, which brings to the fore the skill of
listening and the art of establishing a close contact. Thanks to this method,
the traditional patronising, segregating and subordinating culture is being
transformed, and a culture which emphasises partnership with the child is
gaining ground. This is done, however, ensuring that the child receives the
care and protection that it needs. It brings to evidence that children
produce information in many different ways and paints a picture of children’s
culture, especially their games.
The
instruction of the Storycrafting method in different languages
The method suits all cultures (and subcultures) which show respect for man
irrespective of the level of his or her speaking and communication skills.
The point is that the child performs his or her part by creating a story (sounds,
drawings, games, views) based on what are his or her own personal abilities
and constraints. The story is then written down and retold by an adult who
is usually from the same or a similar culture. Storycrafting is a
therapeutic method which, relying on the child’s strengths, helps the
child enhance his or her self-esteem. The point is that children who live,
for example, in the midst of a crisis, in a children’s home, or similarly
stressing circumstances, are asked to turn their experiences into stories
which an adult listens to and which are then published. The method provides
rapid first aid in times of a war or a crisis by identifying the grief of
the distressed and repeating and sharing the words or outbursts of one who
is suffering. Group storycrafting is used to bridge the gap when a child has
to encounter new and foreign environments. Storycrafting is also a cheap and
simple tool to teach a child to learn to read and write without books and a
curriculum. Besides Finland, the method has been introduced in all the
Nordic countries, Estonia, the United Kingdom, among the Palestinian
refugees, etc.
See the video of the Storycrafting method
(M. Riihelä, Filminova Stakes 2001 publ on web 10.11.2001)
Go to the version for fast
connections (ADSL)
or the version for slow
connections (ISDN)
See the video and the text of the study Playing
Researchers
M. Riihelä, Filminova Stakes 2001 publ. on web 28.11.2001
How
do we deal with the children's questions? Monika Riihelä.
Doctoral dissertation in the University of Helsinki, department of
socialpsychology. Printed in National Research and Development
Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES), Finland, 1996. Published
on internet 18.09.2003. ISBN 951-33-1068-X
Look at: CHILDES: http://childes.psy.cmu.edu/
Four children in
pre-school-age
are telling their Space-stories in the end of
a the project
See report --->
The many methods of the new way to listening and sharing, the
Storycrafting, emphasise the importance of giving the voice to
children both in research and in practice. Storycrafting is
different from storytelling; when a child or a group of children
are asked to tell a story, and the adult writes it down word by
word. When the story is finished, the adult reads it so that the
child can edit the text if he/she wants so. With this method,
thousands of stories have been already collected. This method is
also useful for documenting children's play and their
investigation of different phenomena.
By storycrafting, children's thoughts and action will be recorded
in dialogue in encounters with the children, without evaluation.
The Storycrafting-method enables children to participate. You are
welcome to join us to study the world through children's eyes.
Thank you for your visit!
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