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“Building Identity and Understanding Diversity”—Children’s Literature and Traditional Literature Potential in the School Curriculum



Author(s)

Maria da Natividade Pires

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DOI:10.17265/2161-623X/2011.07A.011

da Universidade Nova, Lisboa, Portugal

This paper revolves around the great potential that children’s literature and traditional literature may display in social transformation, when associated with the school curriculum. Displaying a role as an important element in children’s education and establishing a connection between school and out of school contexts, children’s literature can give a huge contribution to the building of identity and comprehending of diversity. This will surely reflect itself in a social performance guided by principles of solidarity and equity among different socio-cultural groups. No social transformation occurs exclusively at a school level, but notwithstanding all the relative significance assigned to school in our current society. School is still the area where a more accurate guidance can be given and therefore its social responsibility has not decreased. According to this line of thought, we believe that literature also displays an extremely relevant role in the transmission of principles. There are feelings and emotions predominantly present in these texts, which when educators articulate them with a constructive praxis, they provide a crucial dimension in building identity and in the way we see each other as referred by Hetherington (1998): “in the contemporary world… flows of images, information, ideas and people cross the societies… These flows generate new hybrid cultures”. School frequently struggles with finding strategies to deal with these changes, mainly within contexts where immigration has a stronger significance. We support the idea that children’s and traditional literature may display an important role while dealing with these issues. Mediterranean people versus Northern peoples, East versus West, Europe versus Africa… are “consecrated” opposites, questioned by several thinkers like Edward (2003) and mainly from the middle of the 20th century onward. Are these opposites pre-concepts reproduced or destroyed in children’s literature and in traditional literature? This paper aims at developing this topic/issue and putting forward some pedagogic suggestions.

intercultural education, children’s literature, traditional literature, identity, pedagogical activities, school curriculum