A fear that grips your heart. Education and fear in children’s fairy tales

Abstract

This article is inspired by the systematic observations of five years of work with classic fairy tales in the nursery school of the province of Ferrara. It is not an experimental research; it is the reflection, supported by a bibliographical research, on my experience of working with nursery school teachers. It has been theorized that the guided reading of this narrative can favor, in the smallest, emotional awareness processes and, with the recognition of the emotionality of others, the progressive emancipation from one’s selfcenteredness. This aim is particularly important in an age phase during which linguistic and semantic competence is still insufficient to describe the complexity of emotions and feelings, especially those that are related to fear. The dramatized reading of fairy tales was followed by an activity of analysis through drawing and discussion, with the subsequent verbalization of the children themselves. Finally, the discussion with the teachers and the subsequent reflections. The epistemological framework refers to an interpretative pedagogy and the methodological approach, of qualitative implantation, is based on participatory observation. The aim is to provide a grid of interpretation to the teachers of the nursery school to help them decipher children’s fears and to start, with them, processes of emotional awareness. To this end, some classic fairy tales were examined.