An Investigation of the Concept of War and Peace in Illustrated Children's Books

Abstract

The phenomenon of war and peace has existed since the beginning of humanity. While the Turkish Language Association defines "war" as struggling, struggling to eliminate something, struggling to destroy something and fight, the Association defines "peace" as an environment of tolerance, harmony and mutual understanding. In the process of transforming war into peace, individuals must first acquire knowledge, develop skills and attitudes. The most important concepts to be acquired regarding this process are tolerance, justice, human rights, democracy and equality. These concepts are abstract and difficult for the preschool child to comprehend. Researches reveal that starting from the preschool period, quality education, educational environment, methods and materials are required for the comprehension of the concept of war and peace, which are among the abstract and difficult subjects for children. In this respect, the study was carried out in order to examine the suitability of the illustrated children's books, which cover the subject of war and peace, for the preschool period. Qualitative research method was preferred in the study. Reviewed books group consists of 22 illustrated children's books determined by the criterion sampling method that is one of the purposive sampling methods. Illustrated children's books were examined by document analysis method. The data related to the study were analyzed through descriptive analysis and content analysis techniques. As a result of the research, it can be said that in the illustrated children's books examined, there is not enough attention to the developmental characteristics of the child in the process of explaining the cause of the war, including positive emotions as well as negative ones, and resolving the war.