‘Cinderella did not speak up’: critical literacy approach using folk/fairy tales and their parodies in an early childhood classroom

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis qualitative study examined a class of 20 five-year-old Korean children’s literary sessions that were composed of whole-group read-alouds of fairy/folk tales and their parodies, including discussion and follow-up activities based on critical literacy practices. Over a 15-week period, multiple sources of data including observations, open-ended interviews, written materials, and children’s artifacts were collected. We found that these literary sessions based on a critical literacy approach helped the children (1) perceive the stories from different/multiple perspectives, (2) challenge stereotypes, and (3) confront the dominant social ideology/norms. The findings of the study add several important implications for implementing critical literacy in early childhood classrooms, which apply to the teachers’ questions and selection of books, as well as the system and consistency of instruction.