The psychoeducational role of fables: A qualitative analysis for good teaching

This chapter aims to highlight the educational and psychological importance of fables for child development. This work underlines the role of fables for development, highlighting how they, if used appropriately, can become a valuable and effective, didactic tool (Moxnes, 2006). The chapter will present a text and content analysis of two fables often used by parents and teachers who might not be aware of the messages they may convey. In this sense, fables may be important educational means concerning cognitive levels but also affective and social ones (Marsh, Butler & Umanath, 2012). The multilevel analysis will be carried out underlining the importance of these educational tools, since teaching focuses on the child's development in psychosocial and affective terms. In this way, this work will become a teacher's guide for an effective, pedagogical use of fables, including the messages they may transmit, as well as meanings that could be misconstrued and/or omitted. The fairy tales used for the analyses will be Donkey-skin by Charles Perrault (1965) and Hansel and Gretel by Jacob Ludwig and Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1812). Both stories contain multiple messages/content used in infancy and adolescence by teachers and parents to transmit and teach content often considered too strong or concerning subjects often avoided for children due to certain spheres not suited towards development, such as violence and aggression. Getting in touch, appropriately, with all the realities that the fables transmit becomes an educational practice that proves to be effective by teachers that adopt them.