¸£ÀûÔÚÏßÃâ·Ñ

International scholars convene to explore narrative reasoning in children

Between 16–18 March 2026, twelve international scholars from the US, UK, Switzerland, Italy, and Malta gathered at the Old University campus. The meeting was part of an ongoing international research project focused on Narrative Thought and Narrative Reasoning in Children, a study with significant implications for professionals in education, psychology, theology, and wellbeing.

The research suggests that meaning-making and narrative processes are driven by an innate human need to connect with the self, others, nature, and the Ultimate Reality. By exploring these connections, the project aims to uncover universal processes that allow educators and therapists to enhance a child’s ability to recognise cultural affordances and perceive meaningful realities.

The network—convened by Prof. Adrian-Mario Gellel (Faculty of Education/Faculty of Theology) and the Symbol Literacy team—aims to move beyond fixed structures to identify the "narrative reasoning" patterns inherent in children’s storytelling.

The three-day symposium focused on three critical areas of development:

• Theoretical Frameworks: Refining the distinction between narrative thought and narrative reasoning.
• Analytical Methodologies: Exploring techniques for decoding cognitive processes, including the emerging role of AI-moderated quantitative methods.
• Future Trajectories: Planning upcoming collaborations, including new data collection in Italy and the publication of forthcoming books and research papers

This transdisciplinary network builds upon the University Excellence Research funded project (2023–2025), which examined children’s meaning-making through the Symbol Literacy pedagogical approach. That empirical study, which involved 821 children, was instrumental in shifting the academic focus from simply observing narrative thought to actively interrogating narrative reasoning.

This high-level multidisciplinary synthesis, crucial for advancing our understanding of a child's inner world, was made possible through the strategic support and funding provided by the Children’s Spirituality Research & Innovation Hub.