Look Out below (and Above)! Challenging Adult Understandings of Displaying Young Children's Artwork

Abstract

Children's artwork displays are a distinct and key feature of early childhood classrooms. The artwork produced by young children in the classroom is often linked to the educational program. After the completion of the art projects, early childhood educators face the challenge of displaying the children's artwork. With minimal research available on the 'how to' aspects of displaying children's art, educators rely on traditional methods of display, such as fair and equitable representation. Based on a selection of findings from a doctoral research conducted with children between the ages of four and six, this article offers early childhood educators (and adults, generally) insight into young children's lived experiences of the display of their own visual artwork. Discussed in this article are three key themes that were identified in the doctoral study that offer guidance towards a new method for displaying children's artwork. These include: (1) the practices of making and displaying art cannot be separated;(2) decisions about the display of children's visual artwork are made by adults; and (3) art experiences directly impact the lives of young children. This article asserts that adult sensitivity and acknowledgement of children's rights are essential aspects of the decision-making process associated with displaying children's artwork.

Day-to-day life during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal qualitative study with Canadian parents of young children

“…Within education, there is an emerging discussion that is focused on children as global citizens (Twigg et al, 2015). This discussion recognizes the significance of children's social experiences as both important and memorable – experiences that have been disrupted during the pandemic.…”

ARtist: Interactive Augmented Reality for Curating Children's Artworks

“…Children also feel proud and have a strong sense of ownership when displaying their artwork to others (Boone, 2008;Short, 2007). One purpose of displaying children's artwork is the documentation of their artwork at different stages of completion, which also showcases what they have learned (Schroeder-Yu, 2008;Seefeldt, 2002;Spodek, 1993;Twigg, 2011;Kuhnert, 2014). The documentation additionally functions as "a form of communication" between children and other people (Kuhnert, 2014;Seefeldt, 2002).…”

Discovering child citizens'’ understandings and experiences of social justice

“…Considerable investigations have been conducted to herald the importance of intentionally inculcating social justice ideologies in the civics curriculum of the young child (Brodyk 2010;Preez and Niekerk 2018;Francis and Roux 2011;Goss 2009). Role players, from various areas of a child's life, advocate the responsibility to prepare children to flourish and cope with the demands that society raises in the ever-changing information era (Adey 2003;Preez and Niekerk 2018;Green 2014;Twigg et al 2015).…”