Abstract:

The article deals with the child’s freedom to act and initiative-taking supposing favourable conditions for children to express themselves, experience the unexpected which intrigue, raise a specific tension, i.e. allow them feel and accept challenges and experience the joy of learning. In such a way, monotony is avoided, which is highly important in the children’s culture of learning because identical, repetitive actions become boring to children soon, cause a wish to start an activity anew, to do something in their own manner. The freedom to act is linked to the “letting (oneself) free” from such interventions of adults into the world of children’s culture of learning which is characteristic of superimposing activities and restriction of self-expression opportunities. Exactly the initiative-taking allows understanding that, in the processes of creation of the culture of learning, children are not the errant creatures who should be continuously “fixed” and taught, but rather the social, cultural individuals who have specific creative powers.
Results of the qualitative research revealed child’s striving to learn freely, i.e. to create one’s own culture of situated learning while constructing the rules for learning themselves. In such a way, situated learning is given sense as a creative process. While constructing their rules of learning, children follow such conceptions: a talisman used as a symbol of successful learning; freedom as a stimulus for situated learning; a possibility to learn at various times of the day; a possibility to learn in a way how one likes/ wants; unrestricted learning through activities, situations; understanding of unlimited opportunities of situated learning.
The population sample of the present qualitative research comprised 249 children aged 10–12 years. The sample size is sufficient to carry out a qualitative research and deeply, intensively but not extensively investigate the phenomena of children’s culture. A free thematic essay was an instrument of the research. The research data is presented through the analysis of themes and subthemes of narrative texts of a free essay.

Keywords:

Experiential learning of children, active learning, situated learning, qualitative research.