Elementary School Students Approach the Pontian Greek as a Refugee within the Drawing Activity

Konstantinidou Zoe,Konstantinidou Parthena,Fotiadis Konstantinos

doi:10.22158/eshs.v2n1p1

Konstantinidou Zoe, Konstantinidou Parthena + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.22158/eshs.v2n1p1

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Abstract

Children tend to express themselves in detail through the design activity since they greatly lack linguistic and verbal competence. In the present study, we gathered and analyzed the drawings of elementary school students, aged 8-12, (total num = 110) to explore their views and thoughts for the Pontian Greeks as refugees. The drawings were collected during their visit to a multi-themed exhibition regarding the culture of the Black Sea and they were analyzed based on their content. The results show that children approach the Pontian Greek refugees with sensitivity and empathy, while gender and origin influence the presence of cultural elements and symbols that refer to the Pontian Greek Genocide and the exile that followed.

Highlights

The design activity as a free means of expression and communication constitutes rich educational material with cognitive content (Fineberg, 1998) and is a remarkable way to explore children’s thoughts, feelings, attitudes, knowledge and experiences (Gika, Athanasopoulou, & Damianaki, 2015)
The results show that children approach the Pontian Greek refugees with sensitivity and empathy, while gender and origin influence the presence of cultural elements and symbols that refer to the Pontian Greek Genocide and the exile that followed
2.1 Sample This paper presents information collected by elementary school students who attended an educational program of a multi-themed exhibition titled “Pontus: We have the right to remember, we have the obligation to remember”

Summary

Introduction

The design activity as a free means of expression and communication constitutes rich educational material with cognitive content (Fineberg, 1998) and is a remarkable way to explore children’s thoughts, feelings, attitudes, knowledge and experiences (Gika, Athanasopoulou, & Damianaki, 2015). It is one of the many “languages” through which children can narrate stories that would otherwise remain unknown or fragmentary (Kress, 1997; Pahl, 1999). Children’s drawings sought to be used as a tool for understanding and approaching their views and ideas for Pontian Greeks as refugees

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Discussion

Conclusion