The power of make-believe and young children’s experience with narratives: inspirations from the work of Vivian Gussin Paley
Abstract
This essay discusses some aspects of the work by the U.S. educator Vivian Gussin Paley (1929-2019), internationally renowned for her various books dedicated to play, fantasy and narrative creation in early childhood education environments. Through commentaries on her books and talks, this article presents some of Paley’s main contributions to an education of young children that values their imagination and freedom to make-believe, understood as essential to develop their subjectivity. Among the many themes associated to this general idea, there is a focus on Paley’s methodology developed to the creation of meaningful stories by the children themselves and the dialogic aspect of the narrative desired, in an interplay of children and teacher’s stories, written for that specific context, with the aim of building a profound sense of community. The conclusion sums up the dimensions of the author’s work that are seen as the most potent inspirations for the education of early childhood in our country.
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References
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