"Look! I made it myself": what do children tell us about authorship and children's aesthetics

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21814/childstudies.6361

Keywords:

Childhood Studies, children's authorship, children's aesthetics, social authors, ethnography with children

Abstract

This study explores how children perceive their authorship and engage in discussions on childhood aesthetics. The research was conducted in a kindergarten in northern Braga with eighteen children aged between three and five years, participating in the educational project "A Place to Sound and Be Every School", led by the SOUND.BE group. The findings indicate that educational practices that encourage children's authorship and embrace childhood aesthetics create spaces for intergenerational dialogue, strengthening children's autonomy and creative expression. Moreover, the study highlights the need to reconfigure pedagogical practices to overcome adult-centric structures, making schools more democratic and inclusive spaces. This research contributes to a broader debate on valuing childhood in educational contexts, reaffirming the importance of recognizing children as legitimate subjects of knowledge and creation.

Author Biography

  • Dhemy de Brito, CIEC | Institute of Education | University of Minho

    Dhemy Brito is a visiting Assistant Professor at the Institute of Education, in the Department of Social Sciences of Education, University of Minho, Portugal. Doctor in Child Studies, specialising in Childhood, Culture and Society, from the University of Minho (Portugal). Master in Music from the State University of Santa Catarina, and Bachelor in Singing from the State University of Maringá. Member of the Research Centre on Child Studies (CIEC) and of Mei - the research group on music, education and childhood, affiliated with PPGMUS/UDESC. In 2020, published the book *"The Children's Choir and the Children: Why and for Whom Do They Sing"*, by Paco Editorial. Additionally, as a speaker and researcher, has been developing studies and workshops on the concept of Polyphony and the right to children's voices, which materialises the construction of policies that promote the right to culture, autonomy, and recognition of children's voices.

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Published

05-08-2025

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"Look! I made it myself": what do children tell us about authorship and children’s aesthetics. (2025). Child Studies, 7, 99-120. https://doi.org/10.21814/childstudies.6361

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