Still Life and Human Rights in Early Childhood: An Arts-based Study on the Passage of Time and the Relationship Between Life and Death

Abstract This article reports on an Arts-based Educational Research (ABER) study about how the passage of time is perceived in young children’s minds and its relationship to issues of life and death, through a slow pedagogy approach. The study was conducted at a country preschool and involved children aged 3 to 6 years ( N = 24). The research used still life and other artistic practices to make abstract concepts such as change and transformation visible and tangible for the children. The aim of these arts-based activities was to open up spaces for respectful, adapted dialogue among the children regarding their concerns about the passage of time and death, in keeping with their human rights. The methodology is based on four concepts taken from contemporary artistic practice: visual data in the form of photography and drawing; collective artistic creation resulting in a piece of video art; analysis of the children’s perception of death through personal narratives; and photographic documentation of the pedagogical activities involved. The results showed an evolution over the course of the study among each age and developmental cohort of children in their ideas about the passage of time towards a more precise, nuanced understanding of the concept. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of slow, contemporary arts-based pedagogy as a way of addressing complex and sensitive issues and ensuring opportunities to talk about death as a fundamental human right.