“My Mind is not in my Brain”: Exploring consciousness with children using creative research methods

Abstract

The focus on the brain over the last few decades has seen an overclaiming of the human condition through brain-based research. Researching consciousness is an enquiry into who we are, our subjective experiences and our relationality with others and the world. In typical and child development research, materialist orientations dominate the field, assuming brains as the manufacturers of consciousness. Qualitative research has the potential to engage children in consciousness research, while interrogating typical constructionist, realist and materialist orientations. In this article we discuss using creative research methods for exploring aspects of phenomenal consciousness, such as self and mind, with children in a UK primary school. We share findings in relation to how children understand consciousness, how consciousness bears on self for children in the study, and how children experience and perceive the mind/body.