Oral narrative between children and adults: from a continuous flow to a carsical river?

Authors

  • Milena Bernardi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1970-2221/1737

Abstract

In its first stage, the research segment we present takes into consideration the existence of a process - that has been taking place for a long time - involving a transformation and/or a decline of oral storytelling in the daily interaction between children and adults. In this specific context, such process is an indicator of the changes in the educational methods and in the interchanges between families and educational workers, in the framework of the “educational alliance”. The variety of the areas of study included under the item “storytelling” in the fields of social sciences requires the clarification of the “narrative curvature” chosen for the ongoing research project. Such curvature belongs to the epistemology of children’s literature and to the pedagogy of storytelling, as it allows the pedagogic research to primarily focus on the meanings assumed by storytelling in the educational relationship, and, secondly, on the ways and forms of storytelling for children. In an era of great vitality and visibility of stories and storytelling - amongst which written text production, graphic novels and movies for children abound - there seems to be a marginal and almost subterranean area of narrative communication likely to fade into oblivion. It is the area involving oral storytelling, experienced in praesentia by children and adults together, woven with threads of words that give sense to the whole set of experiences, trying to reorder the disorder that often characterises reality, interpreting, establishing connections, imbuing experiences, events, relationships, things and words with that sense and through the voices. This piece of research is, therefore, focused on the risks and the consequences that may derive from its lack. As to the methods adopted, they involve both analyses carried out on corpuses and on data and information collected in focus group meetings with educators and parents.

How to Cite

Bernardi, M. (2010). Oral narrative between children and adults: from a continuous flow to a carsical river?. Ricerche Di Pedagogia E Didattica. Journal of Theories and Research in Education, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1970-2221/1737

Issue

Section

INFANZIE E FAMIGLIE: un anno di ricerca del Dip. di Scienze dell'educazione