Working with Myths: Creative Expression Workshops for Immigrant and Refugee Children in a School Setting

Abstract A follow-up to a previous study, this paper describes creative expression workshops using myth to facilitate storytelling and drawing activities for recently arrived immigrant and refugee children. A qualitative analysis of the children's creative output suggests that the use of a wide variety of mythic referents frequently helps children better represent the gaps between home and school, past and present, and offers the possibility of hybridizing their worlds. Our results also suggest that myths serve as a link between inner reality, interpersonal relationships, and the social order. Using myths in creative expression workshops seems to provide immigrant and refugee children with a useful framework for expressing and sharing their experiences. This article is part of the following collections: Art therapy in schools