Transmigrant and immigrant preschool visual response to intergenerational multimodal storytelling

Abstract

Newly arrived (refugees, migrants, transmigrants, immigrants) children require a shiftin intergenerational storytelling. Intergenerational storytelling enables culturally and linguistically diverse emergent learners exposure to not only language but socio-cultural knowledge, values and practices. This study examines the intergenerational storytelling and art session held at a co-joined pre-school and elderly care home. There were 15 pre-school children aged 4-6, half of whom were newly arrived in Finland, and 4 Finnish elder storytellers. The theme of the project was to utilize everyday socio-cultural practices. The study used Pink’s visual semiotic and Kress’ multimodality for analysis. The research investigated two questions: 1) To what extent can intergenerational multimodal storytelling benefit transmigrant, immigrant community engagement and identity? 2) In a globalized world, how do children’s relationships with multimodalities create learning (language, socio-cultural practices)? Data was collected from qualitative pre - and post-session discussions from the six storytelling sessions, video recordings made by the participants, and multimodal artwork created by the children after each storytelling session. The results revealed transmigrant children engaged with components of stories that connected to their residency situation. Additionally, children represented themselves in the art as response to multimodal storytelling sessions. Interactive storytelling was effective means for socio-cultural interaction between pre-school children and elderly storytellers/people.