My thinking chair: Daydreaming in the lives of children

This dissertation is an exploration of the nature of daydreaming and its relationship to literacy development in the lives of four children. The children were interviewed and the data is presented in four interpretive case studies. Of the four children, ages 11-13, two of the children are urban and two children live on a southwestern Indian reservation. Five themes emerged from the interviews with the children regarding their use and description of daydreaming: daydreaming, imagination, reading, writing, and school. The children consistently made distinctions between daydreaming and imagination, utilized daydreaming in their construction of their worlds, and discussed the negative attitude they experience in school toward daydreaming. The data in the individual case studies is contextualized within the broader life context of each of the four children represented. A component of this work is based in the researcher's self reflection. The universal practice of daydreaming must be valued in the growth and development of the individual. Daydreams show the uniqueness of individual invention. Through daydreams children explore places they have never been, become characters in the stories they read, and explore new knowledge in the safety of their own minds. Daydreaming is an invisible aspect of the creative and generative life of the mind which is critical to visible production. Currently research themes are increasingly addressing the question of individual consciousness and understanding how children transform information into their own terms. This dissertation seeks to contribute to this understanding. Daydreaming is not a negative practice but one which contributes to children's invisible and visible worlds. Daydreaming serves the interests of these children in their lives as thinkers, readers, writers and creators both at home and school