Creative writing as a way to approach children’s and young adult literature in teacher training

Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyse the benefits of creative writing in teacher training, on the basis of the study of several experiences carried out along 4 academic courses, with a sample of 182 students, in the course of “Teaching Children’s Literature” of the Degree of Infant Education.  Using a model of action research, with a qualitative methodology, the process is described and the final results are analysed. Participant observation, final products and the students’ perception are taken into account. As a result, the students made 40 recreations of children’s and young adult literature (CYAL) texts, created with different techniques. The students appreciated the task, highlighting its practical character, the relation with their professional future, together with creativity, enjoyment and the learning reached. The task conformed to students’ interests, fostered their motivation, promoted an active learners’ role, promoted an approach to CYAL, involved the application of knowledge acquired during the course and favoured the development of competences essential for teachers. To conclude, it is clear that creative writing are appropriate practices for teacher training, especially in the context of literary education.