It\'s Like Watching Someone\'s Life Go Past! Young Children\'s Perspectives on Live Arts Performance

It\'s Like Watching Someone\'s Life Go Past! Young Children\'s Perspectives on Live Arts Performance

This paper reports on an Australian longitudinal research project to explore and document children s perspectives on live arts performance and the impact on children, their teachers and school communities. The research involved collaboration between a State Department of Education and Children s Services, a National Performing Arts company and a University Research Institute for Early Childhood and Family Studies. 135 children from four elementary schools attended two to three arts performances a year for three years at a major performing arts venue. This paper will discuss the responses of the younger children (4. 6-8 years of age) to performance, their gains in language and literacy skills, and their appreciation of making a per - formance. Principals, teachers and parents reported that children showed more empathy and kindness to other children following live arts performance and worked more collaboratively. Children were able to reflect on how they would like to be involved in a performance and how they could use what they had learned.