Makten att göra sin röst hörd - synsätt i mötet mellan teater och skola
Children?s participationChildren?s voicesCreative regimenDemocracyRadical aesthetics,TheatreBarns deltagandeBarns rösterKreativitetsregimDemokratiRadikal estetikTeater
Abstract
In the following text we analyse different perspectives in a meeting between a theatre
and a visiting school class from grade six in the Swedish Primary School, in order to
investigate the conditions for children?s participation and for making children?s own
voices heard in professional theatres. Though it is common for Swedish theatre artists to
try to understand and interpret children?s perspectives, it is rare for children to be given
the opportunity to show their own perspectives in professional theatres in Sweden
(Davet 2011 p. 18). The authors of this text have their theoretical base in a sociocultural
perspective that gives that learning and creation of meaning and purpose takes place in a
social and cultural context (Vygotskij 1978). In the analysis of our material we have
found Feiwel Kupferberg?s (2009) theory on different creative regimens and Robert A.
Harts (1992) descriptions of children?s participation useful. This is a case
study and our primary method is qualitative interviews. Our informants are four pupils,
one teacher, one theatre pedagogue and two theatre artists. The result shows that the
artistic creative regimen and the pedagogical creative regimen are different and this has
an impact on how our informants approach the meeting between school and theatre, as
well as on how they think about making children?s voices heard in theatres. Formal and
informal demands and expectations present obstacles to working with children?s
participation in a co-operation between school and theatre. The social reception after the
theatre performance has been an important part of the participating pupils? experience.
The pupils show enthusiasm about the thought of expressing themselves through theatre
together with teachers and theatre artists. We come to the conclusion that there is a need
for a change in professional roles among all the adult participants in this meeting if they
want to make children?s participation a reality. For this to happen they need to take it
upon themselves to use their different professional skills to make children?s own
projects come to life.
Key words: children?s participation, children?s voices, creative regimen, democracy,
radical aesthetics, theatre.