Related Data for Thesis/Dissertation: Children as consultants: A constructivist-negotiated approach to art activity planning

In Singapore preschools, most children’s art-making experiences are teacher-directed and product-focused resulting in a lack of individuality and creativity in children’s artworks. One of the determinants affecting the quality of learning and teaching is the lesson plan. Given that children are expert informants about their own lives, this study aims to investigate whether children’s voices and participation in art lesson planning produce lessons of higher quality (i.e., whether it meets the criteria of child-centricity and the Singapore Nurturing Early Learners framework art education goals). A total of 20 children (5–6 years old) from two childcare centres in Singapore served as consultants in focus groups to modify an existing art lesson plan together with the researcher, culminating in two children-modified plans, CMP-A and CMP-B. The children and three observers evaluated the art experience when the original plan (OP) and two CMPs were subsequently enacted. These plans were also evaluated by 35 National Institute of Education (NIE) Master of Education (Early Childhood) students (MEd students), who had an average 11.5 years of early childhood teaching experience. Results revealed that the children found slight improvements in the art experiences of both the CMPs over the OP, while the observers’ rated the enacted CMP-B as better and CMP-A as inferior compared to the OP. Results also showed that MEd students rated the plans in the following order from highest to lowest quality: CMP-A; OP; and CMP-B. Qualitative data suggests that the lower rating for CMP-B was primarily due to MEd students’ erroneous belief that it was too complex for children to follow. Children’s success at comprehending the concepts and following the procedures of CMP-B evidently refuted such child-limiting belief. The study highlights the value of consulting children in art lesson planning, and encourages teachers to adopt the practice of listening to children’s voices as part of their pedagogical repertoire.