project
This research project explores how visual means could be used to improve communication amongst children and between children and adults in the primary school. Drawing on a methodology known as PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal), the project encouraged children and teachers in three Norfolk primary schools to experiment with visual ways of enhancing communication, participation and decision-making within school council meetings. A research team from University of East Anglia worked in collaboration with teachers involved with the school councils in Hillside Avenue Primary School, Poringland Primary School and Tuckswood Community First School.
The first phase of the project involved observation and documentation of current forms of communication and participation within the school and class councils. Based on findings from phase one, PRA methods were adapted and new visual strategies were invented to facilitate discussion and decision making. In phase two the methods were implemented and discussed in workshops.
