“I’m going to see works of art”: Listening to children’s narrative voices

This study was an exploration of children’s agency and autonomy supported through use of clay and museums as learning environments. It was conducted with 48-60-months-old children (M = 52.2) in museum and classroom environments, and focused on a ceramic artist’s life story. Using multimodal narration, our research revealed children’s agency manifested in stages: before, during, and after museum visits. This study underscored the role of clay in fostering self-directed learning by emphasizing its tactile and open-ended nature. Integrating clay into an immersive museum experience empowers children to make independent decisions and exercise choice, revealing its impact on agency and autonomy.