Using art with vulnerable children

Refugee children are often admitted into schools having experienced traumatic events. The impact of trauma on children has been well documented and these children frequently have complex needs. The Devon Behaviour Support Team (BST) has offered Art Workshops to schools to support children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and refugees in their transition into schools in England. Self‐esteem and social interaction were measured by observations and qualitative assessment techniques over a period of six months for six refugee children from four Art Workshops. The results of the study show overall positive development in the children's confidence and reflect their increasing skills in social interaction within the classroom. The study also highlights the refugee children's attitudes to the art process and their responses to materials and requests.     

Learning-centred Teaching

Distinctions are drawn between different kinds of learning (such as ‘understanding’, ‘factual knowledge’ and ‘skills’) and between different kinds of learners (such as ‘holist’ versus ‘serialist’ learners, and between ‘visualizers’, ‘verbalizers’ and ‘oers’) so that teaching methods can be matched to them. Learning-centred teaching therefore involves adopting teaching methods, such as ‘student-centred learning’, ‘active learning’, ‘didactive teaching’, ‘problem-based learning’, etc., where they are appropriate, but not where they are inappropriate.