Releasing the socio‐imagination: children's voices on creativity, capability and mental well‐being

Abstract

With increasing concerns in the UK about the positive mental wellbeing and flourishing of children, this research, using drama and creative writing with primary school teachers, children and a theatre company, looks at the links between creative processes and children's well-being. This pedagogy applies a capability approach and we use this lens to examine children's critical reflections on the project. Interview data highlight the link between agency, social imagination and subjective well-being. The study offers some concrete examples of the ways in which creative processes can move beyond an outcomebased understanding of the curriculum by offering a legitimate space for children to explore their values and develop competencies which are crucial for well-being in the 21st century.

Practitioner Review: Effectiveness and mechanisms of change in participatory arts‐based programmes for promoting youth mental health and well‐being – a systematic review

“…Of these, just over half were of secondary school age (12–18; n = 7). Only three studies recruited children under 11 (Atkinson & Robson, 2012; Levstek & Banerjee, 2021; Stephenson & Dobson, 2020). Nearly all studies involved groups of children who were marginalised, vulnerable, or disadvantaged in some way (youth justice/antisocial behaviour, n = 4; ‘disadvantaged’, n = 5; low SES, n = 3; migrant/refugee, n = 2; mental health difficulties, n = 2; and autism, n = 1; LD = 1).…”

“…Duberg et al (2016) described the undemanding and supportive nature of her dance programme as offering relief from critical self-judgements, as well as an escape from competitive diachronic structures of progression. Stephenson and Dobson (2020) suggested that their creative writing workshops release children's minds from the captive 'constraints of a neoliberal curriculum' enabling the agentic potential of 'imaginative freedom' to be harnessed. In dance programmes, freedom was conceptualised as embodied in the sense of enabling physiological relaxation and feeling physically comfortable in your own skin, as well as freedom from the 'controlled and sedentary movement' associated with everyday life (Duberg et al, 2016;Ritchie & Gaulter, 2020).…”

“…In some included papers, largely drama-based ones, young people's imagination was harnessed to explore alternative perspectives on the self, as well as different ways of engaging with other people and the environment. Activities included the following: playing themselves as they were in the past (Hanrahan & Banerjee, 2017); imagining themselves as a character in specific historical situations (Stephenson & Dobson, 2020); reflecting on feelings and values of different personal qualities in different situations (Atkinson & Robson, 2012); and writing/performing characters representing different aspect of themselves (Ennis & Tonkin, 2018). These examples all involve a distancing or 'othering' of the self and are said to bring about a shift in young people's understanding of themselves resulting in deeper self-understanding.…”

“…The protected space was variously described as a ‘safe’ space (Archambault et al., 2020; Baker, Jeanneret, & Clarkson, 2018; Caló et al., 2020; MacPherson et al., 2016; Ritchie & Gaulter, 2020), a ‘liminal’ space (Atkinson & Robson, 2012), an ‘oasis’ (Duberg et al., 2016), or as ‘space‐giving for the self’ (Hanrahan & Banerjee, 2017). Practitioners aimed to create a nurturing, supportive, play‐based environment in which CYP felt free to explore, discover, create, and make mistakes without fear of judgement (Baker et al., 2018; Brown & Jeanneret, 2015; Caló et al., 2020; Daykin et al., 2017; Duberg et al., 2016; Ennis & Tonkin, 2018; Levstek & Banerjee, 2021; MacPherson et al., 2016; Parker et al., 2018; Stephenson & Dobson, 2020). The play‐based or ludic qualities of this space resonate with Turner's concept of liminality (1967, 1987).…”

Atrans‐Europeanperspective on how artists can support teachers, parents and carers to engage with young people in the creative arts

“…By transferring the knowledge and skills of artists working in education to school and home contexts, arted aims to build upon research within the project team which demonstrates how engagement in the creative arts can help young people to experience enhanced well‐being through engaging more authentically in learning (Stephenson & Dobson, 2020). Across Europe, there is a range of evidence to support the link between the creative engagement of young people of all ages in schooling and positive well‐being.…”