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Young children's agency in the science museum: insights from the use of storytelling in object-rich galleries

Manyukhina, Y; Haywood, N; Davies, K; Wyse, D; (2023) Young children's agency in the science museum: insights from the use of storytelling in object-rich galleries. International Journal of Science Education, Part B: Communication and Public Engagement 10.1080/21548455.2023.2244645. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

This paper draws on a multi-phase project that sought to understand and increase young children’s engagement with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) objects. The paper presents findings from one aspect of this project that involved using storytelling to support young children’s agency with STEM objects in a UK science museum. The qualitative research involved observing and interviewing 25 children aged 4–7 years in family and school groups. The findings demonstrate the importance of acknowledging and promoting young children’s agency in museum settings. They suggest that providing children with opportunities to exercise agency by them taking control and activating their prior knowledge and interests during museum visits increases their engagement, enjoyment, and confidence. The study also highlights the important role that adults, including parents, teachers, and museum staff, play in facilitating children’s agency and increasing their engagement with museum objects and spaces.

Type: Article
Title: Young children's agency in the science museum: insights from the use of storytelling in object-rich galleries
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1080/21548455.2023.2244645
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2023.2244645
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Keywords: Science museums, STEM, children’s agency, young children, museum objects
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Learning and Leadership
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10175980
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