Enabling talk and reframing messages: Working creatively and collaboratively to create impact from the accounts of care experienced children and young people

This presentation by Dawn Mannay, Professor of Creative Research Methodologies, Cardiff University is part of the ExChange Wales conference series marking 10 years of Centre for Children’s Social Care Research and Development (CASCADE) the home of ExChange Wales. It explores how creative and collaborative approaches can be drawn on as techniques of data production and tools of dissemination and impact. The focus of the presentation is a qualitative study into the educational experiences and aspirations of care experienced children and young people in Wales.

The project worked with care experienced peer researchers and drew on visual, creative, and participatory techniques to explore participants experiences of education and, importantly, their opinions on what could be done to improve it. This multimodal approach allowed space for participants to think through their subjective, mundane, but important, experiences that operate alongside, and interact with, more structural challenges.

Alongside a report, book and journal articles, a range of films, magazines, artwork, and music outputs were developed, as well as training workshops and a website, to ensure that the project recommendations could reach wide and diverse audiences. This presentation suggests that the perspectives of children and young people need to be given a platform to inform policy and practice. Accordingly, researchers need to be creative in their approaches to both fieldwork and dissemination; harnessing the impact of the arts to make positive changes in the everyday lives of children and young people.

This event is being run by the CASCADE if you have any questions, please contact the event team.