Interpreting young people’s self-expression through characters and relationships in collaborative creative writing

de Carvalho, E. and Skipper, Y. (2022) Interpreting young people’s self-expression through characters and relationships in collaborative creative writing. Support for Learning, 37(1), pp. 144-160. (doi: 10.1111/1467-9604.12399)

Abstract

White Water Writers is an intervention that offers school pupils the opportunity to collaboratively write a novel in a week. The current study uses thematic analysis to interpret the voices of young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities through the characters and relationships created in this fictional writing. The main themes derived from the data were: heroism and villainy, associated with characteristics such as responsibility and control; fictional powers, linking to personal agency; social relations, including positive relationships with peers and authority figures; and anthropomorphism, for exploring new emotions and interactions between humans and animals. This suggests that creative writing may be a useful lens through which to explore young people's views of their lived experiences.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Skipper, Dr Yvonne
• Authors: de Carvalho, E., and Skipper, Y.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education; College of Social Sciences > School of Education > People, Place & Social Change
• Journal Name: Support for Learning
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 0268-2141
• ISSN (Online): 1467-9604
• Published Online: 18 February 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 NASEN
• First Published: First published in Support for Learning 37(1): 144-160
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy