Reflexivity and children’s exploration of moral aesthetics in creative writing

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

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to ethical reasons data is not publicly available unless published by the research team.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [DP190101033].

Notes on contributors

L.A. Weber

Lauren A. Weber is Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Wollongong. She specialises in the teaching and learning of literature and subject English from primary to tertiary contexts. Her first monograph, Empathy in the Reading and Teaching of English Literature is under contract with Anthem Press (Forthcoming 2025).

G. Barton

Georgina Barton is a Professor of literacies and pedagogy at the University of Southern Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. She has been Acting Head of School, Deputy Head of School, and the Associate Head of School – Research. She currently leads the Pedagogy Innovation and Excellence Research Cluster within the school and teaches English and literacy education courses in the post-graduate teacher education program.

M. Ryan

Mary Ryan is Professor and Executive Dean of Education and Arts at Australian Catholic University. Her research is in the areas of writing pedagogy and assessment, teachers’ work in, and preparation for, diverse classrooms, reflexive learning and practice, and reflective writing.

M. Khosronejad

Maryam Khosronejad is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Faculty of Education and Arts, ACU, North Sydney. Her teaching and research focus on two areas: 1) teacher professional learning and development; and 2) student learning through interaction with humans and resources. Her recent research is in teaching of writing in primary schools and theories of reflexivity.