Giving Children the Chance to be
Children:
Memory, Identity and Holidays in the
Countryside
Tea Tverin
Department of Geography
Cornwall Campus
CBC Showcase Event, 08.06.2011, University of Exeter, Streatham Campus
Sub-title in 24pt Calibri – Name of presenters
Outline:
Outline:
*Introducing CHICKS
*Rationale
*Existing literature
*Research Aims
*Methodology
*Preliminary results
*Questions
Country Holidays for Inner City Kids
• Founded 1992
• 6-day free respite breaks
• Tywardreath (Cornwall) & Brentor (Devon)
• All the children referred
• 8-11 & 12-15
• Safe environment & safe adults
Why we need this research?
• Child abuse on the rise in the UK
• Voluntary sector – lack of funding
• Children/young people absent from (geographical) research on
memory/memory-making
• Practical, theoretical & policy contribution
Existing Literature
• Leisure activities beneficial to children and young people (e.g. Roberts,
1997, Passmore, 2003, Sacker & Cable 2005)
• Positive impact of a holiday (e.g. Neal, Sirgy & Usyal, 1999,Gilbert &
Abdullah, 2004)
• Social tourism (e.g. McCabe, 2010)
• Positive benefits of nature (e.g. Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989, Ulrich, 1991, 2002,
Faber Taylor et al., 2001)
• Broaden and build theory (Fredrickson, 2001)
Research Aims
• Aim 1. How are happy memories created and sustained, creating a happy
remembered place to return to at times of stress and anxiety?
• Aim 2. What are the immediate and longitudinal effects, which extend
months possibly years beyond the holiday, of these holidays on these
young people?
• Aim 3. What is the role of nature in creating a ‘therapeutic’ holiday
experience?
Methodology
• Iterative-inductive
• Ethnographical methods
 Semi-structured interviews
 Observations
 Research diary
 Art/photo projects
 Informal discussions
 On-line questionnaires
 Monitoring of a social network
space
Preliminary Findings
• Processes of forgetting  allowing memory formation?
• Nature as a physical space creating boundaries and acting as a base for
social interactions  Therapeutic landscapes (Gessler, 1992)
• Genuine love & affection mediates regulation
and control  moral frameworks/landscapes
of care
• Referral agents reported increased confidence
& happier disposition immediately after CHICKS
 contradicting reports on long-term effects
• Embodiment of fun & play (Harker, 2007)
Thank you for listening – Any Questions?
• Research presented here was conducted during an ESRC Studentship
under its Capacity Building Clusters Award (RES-187-24-0002) in
partnership with CHICKS-Country Holidays for Inner City Kids
• For more information about this project and the work of the Centre for
Sport, Leisure and Tourism research, see
www.ex.ac.uk/slt/ourresearch/holidaysfordisadvantagedyoungpeople/
• PhD Researcher Tea Tverin, tmt204@exeter.ac.uk, 01326 253707