Participation in creative activities vary greatly among people from different socio-economic backgrounds. For example, research showed that people of a higher education, income or social class are more likely to attend cultural events such as theatre, drama, dance, or Visual arts exhibitions. Studies with children and young people reveal that parents of children in more advantaged groups use creative activities to enhance the academic and social development of their children. There is a evidence that participation in creative activities is different across gender with girls being more likely to take part than boys.
In Ireland, the Analysis of GUI (Growing Up in Ireland) data shows the same pattern of socioeconomic and gender differences in children’s participation in creative activities. It also reveals a significant gap between Irish and immigrant children in their engagement in creative activities with even lower levels of engagement among families with a non-English native language.
Research evidence shows that participation in creative activities promotes individual, community and national wellbeing.
Muslim children in Ireland are at risk of exclusion and low levels of engagement in creative activities due to their mostly immigrant background and lower socio-economic level than mainstream children
The aims of the Creative Child Project are to:
1. Identify hurdles and barriers in inclusion and engagement of Muslim children in creative activities in Ireland
2. Investigate cultural and psychological predictors of inclusion of Muslim children in creative activities
3. Identify national and international best practice in engagement of children from different background in creative activities
4. Identify the role of gender and its intersection with religion in engagement of Muslim children in creative activities in Ireland
5. Development of a bespoke framework for inclusion and engagement of Muslim children in creative activities.
In this project we interviews parents of children of Muslim background in educations/artists who provide creative activities to children to understand what are the barriers and ways of improvement of the engagement of children in creative activities.
In the creative workshops for children we were able to hear what children say about creative activities.
And the survey we conducted with parents helped and the review of the practices of engagement of children in creative activities around the world helped to establish predictors of this engagement and develop ways of the enhancement of this engagement for the Irish context.