'Our stories were pretty weird too' – Children as creators of a shared narrative culture in an intercultural story and drawing exchange. (2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Piipponen, Oona; Karlsson, Liisa
• Is Part Of: International journal of educational research. Volume 106(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021
• Subjects: Studies of child perspectives -- Aesthetic experience -- Third space -- Community -- Storycrafting; Education -- Evaluation -- Periodicals; Curriculum evaluation -- Periodicals; Education -- Periodicals; Program Evaluation -- Periodicals; Éducation -- Évaluation -- Périodiques; Programmes d'études -- Evaluation -- Périodiques; Éducation -- Recherche -- Périodiques; Curriculum evaluation; Education -- Evaluation; Periodicals; 370.72
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101720
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0883-0355

Abstract

Highlights: A story and drawing exchange created a platform for intercultural encountering. Children formed a shared narrative culture with a geographically distant group. The children negotiated shared understandings in a third space. Aesthetic experiences made the intercultural exchange meaningful for children. Narrativity, creativity and communality engaged children in encountering. Abstract: In today's globalised, interconnected world, intercultural learning is relevant and necessary for children of all backgrounds and ages. This study investigates how a shared narrative culture forms between primary school children in Finland and Belgium during an intercultural Storycrafting and drawing exchange. Ethnographic and narrative data are analysed by following a chain of related situations over the course of the exchange. The findings show that a shared narrative culture was negotiated in a third space between the Storycrafting communities, where the third space was constituted by narrativity, imagination, emotions, creativity, communality and cultural repertoires. To conclude, pedagogies of intercultural learning should engage children aesthetically and narratively and include opportunities for developing connections between and within children's communities.