Verbalization in Children’s Drawing Performances: Toward a Metaphorical Continuum of Inscription, Extension, and Re-Inscription

Abstract

Reconceptualizing the relationship between a child/subject and the adult/researcher is necessary in order to begin unraveling the possibilities entangled in children’s learning practices, particularly those articulated by/through children’s drawing performances. This article seeks to expand upon the complexities of researcher/subject relationships, participatory research practices, documentation as a context for critical inquiry and interpretation, and children’s drawing as a social performance. Utilizing a metaphorical continuum of inscription, extension, and re-inscription to continually re-contextualize the verbal interactions between Carter (the subject) and myself (the researcher), spaces of de-familiarization are constructed that illuminate and give rise to additional epistemological layers, accentuating an already complex understanding of children’s drawing performances.