Children's Agency in Finding Happiness in the ‘Happiest Country in the World’: A Collaborative Drawing and Storytelling Case Study

This case study explores what kinds of everyday ideas a small group of Finnish children have about happiness and unhappiness, and how these ideas relate to narrated practices and actions aimed at finding happiness. We conducted collaborative drawing and storytelling workshops with 10–12-year-old Finnish children (N = 8). The qualitative approach of the case study combines Actantial analysis with Social representations theory. The aim was to illustrate how collaborative, visual-based methods can be used to explore children's ideas and meanings around becoming happy or unhappy. While not generalizable, this case study shows that children may represent becoming happy/unhappy in terms of actions aimed at improving their immediate surrounding and environment. The quest for happiness appeared to revolve around three elementary antinomies: safety/unsafety, self/others and luck/agency. The results of this case study contribute to timely discussion about children's happiness and the need to hear their own voices in the research and show the potential usefulness of collaborative drawing and storytelling approach for future research investigating similar concepts. The benefits and limitations of theoretical-methodological approach are discussed.