Understanding Creativity in Early Childhood
Meaning-Making and Children's Drawing
- Susan Wright - Professor and Chair of Arts Education in the Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Early Childhood Education
Creativity in early childhood is an area of fascination for all those working with young children, and this book investigates why children create, and what their creations mean. Chapters describe the processes and depict the outcomes of meaning-making, and of making room for children's voices through the open-ended activity of drawing.
Issues examined include:
- the increasingly popular use of multi-modal texts;
- links between creativity and literacy;
- the importance of art in early childhood;
- concrete examples of children's meaning-making, from the author's research.
We see how non-verbal and verbal communication is used to convey meaning, and how children's voices emerge; the important role imagination and narrative play in the early and continuing development of children is emphasized throughout the book.
Ideal for students of early childhood, and for anyone working with young children, this book is a revelatory guide to the mind of the young child.
This text fully supports the intended learning for students across two courses. The author has presented a cohesive text that addresses many misconceptions regarding creativity in the early years.
vey useful for the work our students underake on childrens drawings
Interesting and relevant to course material. Good theortical background on early creative thinking.
Very useful text which is well illustrated.
This text has been included in the reading list for one of the FDEYS modules as recommended reading. I have also requerted that CCCU Library order more copies.
This is an interesting study of creativity in early childhood. It gives important insight into the valuable role of drawing to young children. I will be recommending it on the Art & Design modules.
A clearly written and easy read book. Very informative. I liked the great examples of the children's drawings. The reflections at the end of the chapters were helpful and made you think about the issues further.
Excellent book- see my comments on the back of the book!
A good supplementary text to support students deeper understanding of child development in particular the growing understanding of the importance of creativity in the more formal learning environment as well as within the early years; supports effective analysis observations.
Informative easy to read text, ideal for those students on early years degree courses
This is an excellent book on the topic of creativity in Early Childhood. The pictures used to illustrate the points made bring the book to life and help set the theories in context.
