Loading...
Reflexivity and children’s exploration of moral aesthetics in creative writing
Weber, Lauren Alexandra Barton, Georgina Ryan, Mary Khosronejadtoroghi, Maryam
Weber, Lauren Alexandra
Barton, Georgina
Ryan, Mary
Khosronejadtoroghi, Maryam
Abstract
In this paper, we show how children’s creativity manifests in literary aesthetics and how they explore moral subjects as a result. Literary aesthetics involve a range of artistic elements or expressions within a textual work. Writers may use aesthetic properties to express individual appreciation or how people view the world, often in relation to moral values. This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relation between aesthetics and moral value in children’s writing. First, we situate our discussion within the context of reflexivity theory, which framed the larger study from which these data are drawn. Second, we apply appraisal theory within the lens of reflexivity to analyse children’s writing samples for their aesthetic representations of moral qualities. As a result of our study, we show how teachers may improve and complicate the way children practice literary aesthetics in their writing. We argue it is important for students to learn about aesthetics in writing as aesthetics are a key quality of literary expression and may educate readers on the perception and moral values of others.
Keywords
literary aesthetics, reflexivity, creative writing, elementary schools, morality
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Book
Volume
57
Issue
4
Page Range
334-358
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled
Notes
© 2023 National Association for the Teaching of English
Funding: This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [DP190101033].
Funding: This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [DP190101033].