Approaches and Theories to Children’s Literature

Approaches and Theories to Children’s Literature

Albert Bandura (b.1925) • Canadian psychologist • The Social Learning Theory of Bandura emphasis the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes and emotional reactions of others. • Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new ideas are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action. • Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences. • Individuals are more likely to adopt a modeled behavior if it results in outcomes they value. • Individuals are more likely to adopt modeled behavior if the model is similar to the observer and has admired status. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990) • An Austrian child psychologist and a writer. • The author of The Uses of Enchantment (1976)in which he analyzed fairytales in terms of Freudian psychology. • He discussed the emotional and symbolic importance of fairytales for children. • He suggested that traditional fairytales, with the darkness of abandonment, death, witches, and injuries, allowed children to grapple with their fears. • He thought that by engaging with the stories, children would go through emotional growth that would better prepare them for their own lives. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

He believed that the tales had an organic quality because of having evolved in societies and that they allowed children to deal with their darkest fears in symbolic terms. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

John Locke • Prior to the 17th and 18th centuries Britons did not think of childhood as a separate stage of development, they looked at children as simply, small adults. • During the 17th and 18th centuries, adults began to look at their children differently • New philosophies , such as John Locke’s theorized childhood as distinctly separate from adulthood came up. • English began to perceive children as imprintable individuals who could be taught morals and conduct. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

To support this new thinking, authors began to write literature for children with the intention of teaching. • Children’s literature became instructional. • Three types of instructions were particularly prominent: 1- Religious: children’s literature was devoted to religious pursuit. 2- Class divisions: Ch. Lit. assisted attempts to enforce class differences. 3- Gender constructs: the female perception in literature evolved towards more influential agent of social change. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

Locke sees that the goal of education is the welfare and prosperity of the nation. He conceived the nation’s welfare and prosperity in terms of personal happiness and social usefulness of its citizens. • Man becomes moral through education – humans have no innate ideas of God, no innate moral truths, no natural inclination of virtue – Locke defined man as both rational and moral. • Locke’s denial of innate ideas put a premium on individual effort, on the labour necessary to gain knowledge from experience. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

Lawrence Kohlberg • Kohlberg has focused on moral development and has proposed a stage theory of moral thinking which goes well beyond Piaget’s initial formulations. • Piaget divided his findings into two stage theories: 1- Children’s younger than 10-11 years think about moral dilemma's with regard to rules as fixed and absolute. They believe that rules are handed down by adults or by God and that one cannot change them. Thus younger children base their moral judgments more on consequences. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

2- The older children understand that it is permissible to change rules if everyone agrees. Rules are not sacred and absolute, but are devises which humans use to get along cooperatively. Thus older children base their judgments on intentions. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

Kohlberg uncovered six stages, only the first three of which share many features with Piaget’s stages. • Kohlberg’s stages emerge from our own thinking about moral problems. Social experiences do promote development, but they do so by stimulating our mental processes. As we get into discussions and debates with others, we find our views questioned and challenged and are therefore motivated to come up with new, more comprehensive position. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) • Austrian doctor who advanced in the fields of psychiatry and psychology. • Freud’s theories have brought new approaches in child rearing, education, and sociology, and have provided new themes for many authors and artists • He believed that the unconscious plays a major role in shaping behavior. He concluded that the unconscious is full of memories of events from early childhood. He noted that if these memories were specially painful, people kept them out of conscious awareness. He used the term defense mechanisms for the methods by which individuals handled painful memories. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

Some of the defense mechanisms are as follows; 1- Denial; if a situation is too much to handle, the person refuses to experience it. Therefore sometimes children shut out from the realities that they cannot handle. 2-Denial in fantasy; here children, in their imaginations, transform an evil father into a loving teddy bear, or a helpless child into a powerful super hero. 3- Displacement; this is the redirection of an impulse onto a substitute target. Eg. Someone who hates his mother may repress that hatred, but direct it instead towards women in general. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

4- Regression; is a movement back in psychological time when one is faced with stress. Eg. A child may suck his thumb or wet the bed when he needs to spend time at the hospital. * Freud saw all human behavior as motivated by the drives or instincts, which in turn are neurological representations of physical needs Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

Carl Jung (1875 – 1961) • Swiss Psychiatrist • He emphasized the importance of balance and harmony. • He cautioned that modern people rely too heavily on science and logic and would benefit from integrating spirituality and appreciation of unconscious realms. • Jung’s work on himself and his patients convinced him that life has a spiritual purpose beyond material goals. Our main task, he believed, is to discover and fulfill our deep innate potential. He perceived that this journey of transformation is at the mystical heart of all religions. It is a journey to meet the self and at the same time meet the Divine. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

Although Jung maintained friendship with Freud at his earlier stages, he diverted to think, unlike Freud, that the spiritual experience is essential to our wellbeing. Dr Nada Al-Ajmi

Approaches and Theories to Children’s Literature