Exploring children’s everyday lives at school

Authors

• Iiris Kivioja Oulun yliopisto
• Anna-Maija Puroila

Abstract

This study focuses on children’s stories about primary schools. The research question is, “What kind of stories do children tell about school through puppet shows?” The study is methodologically based on an art-based narrative approach. One group of fourth graders produced the research material in small groups. They planned stories about the school context and performed the stories as puppet shows. The planning and the performing of the stories were recorded. The performances were written into a form of stories. The children participated in the interpretation process. The material was further analyzed through Spector-Mersel’s (2011) interpretive framework. The study reveals that three themes penetrated the school stories: bullying, the social order of school culture, and the material school environment. Even though the stories are fictive, they indicate aspects that are meaningful for children in a school context.