Research and Outcomes

Wakakirri is committed to researching and evaluating its programs to provide information to teachers and parents and to improve Wakakirri future programs.

The Wakakirri research and outcomes program consists of:

Teacher notes and curriculum outcomes on all Wakakirri programs
Teacher evaluation results conducted each year
Independent research conducted each year

Wakakirri objectives

The four main objectives of Wakakirri are to:

Promote important community messages

Wakakirri encourages young people to explore issues of importance to them through the arts and offers a positive avenue of expression. Schools that participate in Wakakirri create stories with a variety of important community messages. Examples include: life cycles, bullying, bushfires, sport, friendships, drugs, peer pressure, cultural diversity, natural disasters, technology nature and water conservation.

Promote sustainability

Wakakirri promotes understanding of sustainability far beyond reduce reuse recycle. Sustainability can be applied to every aspect of our lives. Sustainability can relate to how we maintain our physical and mental health, our relationships with people, our careers and lifestyles right through to how we interact with the environment and treat the planet. For everyone, especially children, to understand, appreciate and practise sustainability is vital for the future of the world.

Bridge cultural divides

Wakakirri promotes story sharing as a way of bridging cultural divides across Australia and promoting understanding, respect and inclusion. Every year thousands of students from city, country and remote outback schools around Australia share stories at Wakakirri live festivals and through Wakakirri online events. Story telling is the world’s oldest form of teaching and learning, and stories generated through Wakakirri have amazing reach to the general public, often being performed or exhibited to audiences beyond Wakakirri

Provide a unique teaching tool for teachers

Wakakirri provides teachers with a unique resource to enhance children’s learning. Researched outcomes from students’ participation include: literacy and language development, fostering resilient behaviors, physical activity appreciation, environmental awareness, self-confidence, teamwork and bridging cultural divides

Teacher Evaluation

Evaluation

Each year Wakakirri carries out teacher based evaluation of the Wakakirri programs.

To view evaluation results from 2009 click here

Research

Research

Wakakirri is delighted to announce a new research project to be carried out in 2010 on the Wakakirri event thanks to the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). This year long project will build capacity for Wakakirri to develop and deliver its programs in a more specific and targeted evidence based manner.

Wakakirri Story Dance

Review of related research

Fiona Hilferty

2005

Introduction

Wakakirri Story Dance is the largest performing arts event for schools in Australia. Open to primary and secondary school students, from both government and non-government school systems, Wakakirri began 13 years ago as an event exclusively focused on the telling of stories through dance. Recently, however, the festival’s program has expanded to include a variety of storytelling activities such as creative writing, short film production, cartooning and story-singing. The festival provides a supportive, non-competitive learning environment that facilitates and promotes improved educational and social outcomes for participants. Such claims are not made casually by the Wakakirri team. This paper will draw upon related research to demonstrate, for example, how literacy learning is increased through children’s engagement in storytelling activities (see for example Cooper et al, 1994; Troeger, 1990). As a story-based festival underpinned by explicit social objectives, this paper will also make evident how Wakakirri provides a valuable forum through which teachers can directly address significant social issues such as discrimination, racism and bullying. This is because storytelling through Wakakirri enables students to come into contact with perspectives that enrich and challenge their own. A broad range of research will be reviewed and explained to show that Wakakirri is much more than a fun-filled school and community based performance experience. Wakakirri is a powerful forum that helps children and young people to better know and understand their worlds. An examination of the power of storytelling follows in the section below.

The power of storytelling

Storytelling is basic to human existence. It is an ancient art form used by all previous generations as part of their daily survival and entertainment, and to preserve their cultural identity and history (Mallan, 1991). Born out of the oral tradition, storytelling is commonly defined as using oral language in a social context to relate something heard, read, witnessed, dreamt or experienced (Mallan, 1991). Since earliest times, however, storytelling has also been inextricably linked with art, song, dance and other kinds of public or shared performance (Mallan, 2003). The Wakakirri festival affirms this traditional connection by acknowledging that a story may be related through the words of song, the movements of dance, or even the dialogue of cartoon characters. The Wakakirri festival is therefore based upon a broad conception of storytelling, where the focus is on the relationship between the story, the storyteller, and the audience. As such, storytelling is not viewed purely in linguistic terms. The notion of enactment, or story as performance (Mallan, 2003), underpins the festival.

A multitude of research exists on the topic of storytelling. According to Mallan (2003) the bulk of the research can be categorised into four major paradigms – each of which presents an alternative perspective on the power of storytelling. The central claims made by proponents of each perspective, and their connection to the Wakakirri festival, are summarised below:

Storytelling is a naturalised practice

Within this field of research, storytelling is regarded as a naturalised practice that has the potential to foster feelings of togetherness, unity and sameness within a community group through an expression of the universality of human experience. Livo and Rietz’s (1986) definition of story locates their work within this paradigm:

“Story” is a universal mirror that shows us the “truth” about ourselves – who and why we are. When we look into this mirror, we see daily routine and mundane circumstances transformed into something profound. “Story” takes the ordinary and binds it into all of human existence, revealing the significance of the trivial (p. 4).

This area of research has blossomed since the late 1980’s when attention shifted from the teacher’s role as storyteller within the classroom, to that of the child as storyteller (see for example Engel, 1995; Mallan, 1991). Much of the work on children as storytellers is written by practising teachers, professional storytellers and university lecturers who work with classroom teachers on action-based research projects (Mallan, 2003). Evident in much of this work is the argument that through storytelling, children and teachers come to know each other better as individuals.

Another claim made by researchers within this paradigm is the notion that storytelling is an effective means of building a community based on empathy, tolerance and understanding (Mallan, 1991; Rosen, 1988; Troeger, 1990). Whilst this research specifically refers to storytelling within a classroom context, anecdotal evidence (such as discussions with Wakakirri team members, written evaluations from participating teachers, and examination of the “Kidz Say” section on the Wakakirri website) indicates that participation in the Wakakirri festival results in a similar outcome for many school communities. A future aim of Wakakirri is to add a unique insight into this research paradigm by investigating community building within the context of Wakakirri participation. Prior research by Benard (1998) suggests that in providing children with an opportunity to meaningfully participate in community building activities, Wakakirri helps to develop resiliency in children.

Simply defined here as children’s ability to successfully adapt and develop in healthy ways (Boyd, 1998), resilient children are more likely to be successful in life. Research by Cecil and Roberts (1992) supports the notion that storytelling is an effective way of fostering resilient behaviours in children. This is because stories can introduce children to characters who are themselves in the process of overcoming adversity. Follow-up discussions of stories can show children that there is more than one solution to problems and that they, like the fictional characters, can respond positively to life challenges. Wakakirri similarly fosters resiliency in children by enabling vulnerable, at-risk children, to play the role of survivor and to experience what fictional characters do to succeed in life.

Storytelling enhances students’ literacy language skills and competencies

This second research paradigm shifts focus away from the storyteller to the genre itself. Proponents of this field of research argue that storytelling can improve children’s knowledge of narrative structure, comprehension and linguistic development (see for example Cooper et al, 1994).

According to this perspective, by composing, telling and retelling stories, children develop improved speaking and listening skills and vocabulary (Troeger, 1990). Furthermore, it is argued that by actively telling and listening to stories, children develop a heightened sense of story which results in improved reading and comprehension (Roney, 1989); enhanced written narratives (Schwartz, 1989); and the facility to use story language, metaphor and narrative conventions (Peck, 1989).

Gordon Wells’ (1986) seminal study of children’s language learning and use draws further attention to the links between storytelling and school success. Wells argues that the essential ingredient for literacy development is consistent exposure to stories in the home and classroom environments. Extending this research to the Wakakirri context, it could reasonably be argued that participation in the Story-Dance festival also enhances children’s literacy capabilities. Wakakirri engages children in activities (such as writing, performing and viewing) that extend their knowledge of story schemas by exposing them to literary conventions (such as point of view, characterisation, plot) and different genres of story. Through participation in, and viewing of, various Story-Dance items (including those that follow the conventions of classic tales as well as those that challenge these expectations) children learn to predict, for example, what action may occur next and what might be an appropriate story resolution.

Storytelling as a communicative act

Emerging from the research on storytelling and literacy development is the idea that storytelling is a communicative bridge between children, and between children and adults. Adopting this perspective, Garnett (1986) states that as children we learn to tell stories as a means of coming to know, to be known, and to share what we know. By sanctioning children’s role as storytellers, Wakakirri enables them to communicate genuinely to others not only their stories, but also much about themselves, their school, and their community. Wakakirri provides a valuable forum for children to express their opinions about issues of social injustice and environmental degradation. Issues that concern children today (such as the plight of refugees, water conservation and school bullying - as featured in various 2003 performances), and that are important to their school and community are therefore always a part of Story-Dance items. This communicative dimension of storytelling is reflected in the following quote:

When stories are exchanged, tellers and interpreters share their differing understandings of events and experiences. This sharing can result in rich and deep alignments. Stories provide a road to empathy, understanding and acceptance because when we share stories we become characters in our own stories as well as those of others. Simultaneously, we come to deeper knowledge of content, of others and of ourselves (Lowe, 2002, p. 75).

This belief that storytelling can bridge cultural divides and bring children, teachers and communities closer together is the basis for Wakakirri’s core social goal: the promotion of greater tolerance and understanding within school communities. For those at Wakakirri, this aim is not mere rhetoric, rather, it is a fundamental commitment. Research by Lowe (2002) suggests that the promotion of tolerance and understanding through participation in the Wakakirri festival is also an achievable outcome. As Lowe (2002) argues:

Stories can and do bridge divides. Even the retelling of a story can lead to new understandings that help learners to negotiate differences. It is this capacity of story to act as a medium of negotiation that makes it a powerful agent of community-building (p. 81).

Wakakirri provides an invaluable opportunity for children to explore the values that lie behind community attitudes. It enables children to reflect upon and discuss ways that communities can work towards a more tolerant and caring society. In this way Wakakirri supports state and territory K-12 curriculum documents, all of which position values education as an essential part of student learning (Refshauge, 2004). Whilst the festival provides children with an opportunity to learn about the values of participation, cooperation, excellence, respect and responsibility, Wakakirri focuses specifically on the promotion of tolerance and understanding, and aims to reinforce classroom activities that advocate these values. Through participation in the festival, children are exposed to a diversity of cultures and beliefs. By being taught to respect (and hopefully to value) the individual differences of school friends and others from participating schools, a more tolerant community is built. Exposure to these different cultures and beliefs also helps children to better understand themselves as well as each other. This is because the festival provides examples of social contexts in which young people can see real-life relationships between themselves and others being acted out and resolved. This acting out provides young people with a range of options to consider when it comes to understanding their own motives and actions, as well as those of friends, family members, teachers, and others in their community.

At a practical level, Wakakirri is a forum that enables children and teachers to address fundamental and pressing issues of concern for school communities such as bullying and racism. Past story-dance items have promoted tolerance and understanding by inviting both performers and audience to have empathy with those who are being bullied. Such items help children to recognise the feelings and emotions that exist in the community, as well as in themselves. This insight may compel children to question their own values and those of others within their school community. In this way, Wakakirri takes an explicit stance on values education and actively helps to build communities where members are respectful of difference and understanding of themselves and each other.

Storytelling as a discursive practice

According to Mallan (2003), this fourth and final paradigm can be described as “a critical, discursive framework which takes into account the social and cultural conditions which shape the composition and the performance of the story, as well as the ways in which different identities or subjectivities are reproduced and taken up by the storyteller and the audience” (p. 76-77). This critical approach is advocated by Mallan (2003) who argues that the multiple knowledges children have about gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, culture and language are made visible through their storytelling. Wakakirri provides teachers with a valuable forum in which to explore, and perhaps challenge, children’s beliefs about these core issues of power and related topics such as discrimination, racism and bullying. Wakakirri also provides an opportunity for groups who have been traditionally marginalised in dominant storytelling discourse (such as girls and migrants) to be given a powerful and public voice.

In her doctoral research project Mallan (2003) developed a methodological approach for ‘reading’ children’s storytelling to “make visible the often invisible workings of power, language, and social construction and for recognising the different subject positions children take up” (p. 17). Adapting this methodology to ‘read’ Wakakirri performances is discussed as a possible future research project in the final section of the paper.

Wakakirri Story-Dance as a form of physical activity

This review of the literature has shown that storytelling is a powerful means by which children and young people come to know and make sense of their worlds. Indeed the telling of stories is fundamental to our development and begins around age two. Studies by Gee (1996) and Labov (1970) show that the vast majority of children enter school with large vocabularies, complex grammar and deep understandings stories. The Wakakirri festival capitalises on this often-ignored potential by inviting children to perform, sing, dance, enact and/or write stories. As discussed above, participation in these activities can result in beneficial social and educational outcomes. Absent from the discussion so far, however, is mention of the potential health benefits to children and adolescents that participation in a story-dance item may provide. A story-dance is the telling of a story through expressive and creative movement to music. As such, it is a form of physical activity, and much research indicates the importance of physical activity for the health of children and young people. Physical activity builds and maintains healthy bones, muscles and joints, and helps control weight and reduce body fat. Studies also show that participation in physical activity is beneficial to mental health, reducing symptoms of depression and possibly stress and anxiety (Hardman & Stensel, 2003).

Many activities widely undertaken by children today involve very little physical activity, such as most school activities, homework, watching television, and using computers. There is some evidence indicating that this high prevalence of sedentary behaviours is the major cause for the sharp increase in overweight and obese children in the developed, and increasingly the developing world (Hardman & Stensel, 2003). According to British researchers Hardman and Stensel (2003), adolescents in western societies typically spend more than five and half hours a day in media use and there has been a dramatic decline in physically active transport to school, such as walking or cycling. Whilst diet obviously plays a role in obesity, research now suggests that physical inactivity is the dominant factor responsible for the current increase in obesity prevalence (Harman & Stensel, 2003). Wakakirri offers teachers and schools a means of addressing this health crisis by providing a non-competitive forum through which children can get moving and be active in expressive and creative ways.

The distinctiveness of dance as a physical activity also requires consideration here as dance is so central to the Wakakirri festival. Gard (2004) argues that dance, as a primarily social (as opposed to competitive) and aesthetic (as opposed to instrumental) form of physical activity, has the potential to greatly extend the learning of children. Referring to more than dance’s ability to develop movement and musical skills in children, Gard (2004) believes that through dance expression children are asked to consider other people’s feelings, ideas and actions in a unique and significant way. This is because dance movements themselves embody different ways of thinking and knowing, and thus they provide a way of developing cross-cultural understanding within children. Gard (2004) makes clear that this learning potential depends upon how dance experiences are framed by teachers and he acknowledges that within many physical education classrooms dance is viewed as an uncomfortable syllabus obligation. Within the Wakakirri festival however, dance is viewed as an integral part of their educational vision for children. This positioning supports teachers in actualising the true potential of dance as a valuable medium for social education (see also McFee, 1994). To date, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of dance as a way to challenge children to understand and empathise with others. A study of the effect of dance on children involved in the Wakakirri festival is proposed as a future research project. Additional projects are discussed in the following section.

Suggestions for future research projects

The Wakakirri team are committed to undertaking future research projects that increase practitioner and community understanding of the powerful and positive effect of children’s engagement in storytelling activities (including dance, performance, song, writing, et cetera). Some of the research reviewed in this paper has provided ideas for specific projects that the Wakakirri team would like to undertake in the future. Project ideas include:

¨ An ethnographic study of children’s participation in the Wakakirri festival. Such a study could focus on what participation means for children, what and how they have learnt through the process, and how Wakakirri engages children in moral processes that encourage them to become more understanding and tolerant of themselves and others. A study of this type could have significant pedagogical implications by providing teachers with strategies for enriching children’s participation in the festival and increasing learning outcomes.

¨ Mallan’s methodological approach for reading children’s storytelling (discussed above) could form the basis for a study that examines storytelling as a discursive act. This approach conceives of storytelling as a performance whereby the body (as it sings, speaks, dances, interacts, writes et cetera) articulates a range of discourses that reveal much about children’s understanding of issues of gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality, et cetera. A study of this type could be an important and unique contribution to our understanding of how children’s storytelling functions as a social, political and educative activity.

¨ Finally, whilst the research above has focused on the benefits of Wakakirri for children, a study could be undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of Wakakirri’s professional development workshops for teachers. A study of this type would fill a gap in the mainstream professional development literature that focuses on workshops offered by school governing agencies (such as state and territory departments of education) and professional associations. This project could examine the substantive model of professional development offered by Wakakirri and explore whether these workshops have broader applicability for teachers – that is, whether or not the skills gained can be used by teachers in their daily classroom practice. A related research project could also investigate the role of Wakakirri workshops in providing teachers with an alternative forum through which they can form collegial relationships outside of their school context.

Summary

The research reviewed in this paper reaffirms what the Wakakirri team have known all along – that positive educational, social, and physical benefits result from children’s participation in the Wakakirri festival. Research indicates that Wakakirri is a valuable forum that has the potential to enhance children’s literacy and language development; foster resilient behaviours; and bridge cultural divides. Wakakirri also enables teachers to address issues of social concern, including the prevalence of physical inactivity amongst children today, and build relationships based on understanding and tolerance within classrooms and communities. This final point is especially significant because when children develop strong and caring relationships within their communities, they are more likely to grow up safe and healthy, participate in education and employment, and not become involved in violence and crime (NSW Commission for Children and Young People, 2004).

References

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