Forms of Knowing: Emotion, Creativity and Play in Learning

This chapter uses the example of play to draw out the complex relationship between emotions, creativity and learning. Taking a critical stance on the underlying systems of education that place value on easily compartmentalised forms of knowledge, we will explore how developing forms of knowing based on the relations between people can support creativity and learning. We argue that play and playfulness demonstrate the mutuality of creativity, emotion and relational forms of knowing in learning at all ages and should be recognised as politically important. We conclude by suggesting that laying the foundations for creativity can contribute to developing learners as emotionally astute individuals and community members, able to empathetically relate to themselves, others and the world around them.