Abstract

This study examined the child's understanding of the moral content found in fairy tales based on an afterschool fairy tale story hour presented on a weekly basis for nine weeks. The study included four components: the fairy tale storytelling activity; the dramatisation of the told fairy tale; the interview; and the artistic activity. The interview component helped assess the understanding of the moral content as presented in the six told fairy tales. The study also explored the value of fairy tales in the fives of the children that participated in this study by observing and examining their role and participation in the storytelling, dramatisation and artistic components of the study. Sixteen children from grades one, two, and three participated in the study. A historical overview of Grimm's fairy tales is presented as well as Bettelheim's psychoanalytic theory (1976). Descriptions of fairy tale readings used in schools included various projects spanning curricular domains. Moral development is presented using the cognitive development approach as well as the theories based on Gilligan's (1988) research and Eisenberg's theory of prosocial behaviour (1992). The findings demonstrated that the children in this study were able to identify the moral content found in fairy tales such as: vices and virtues, the intentions behind the deeds, and in certain cases reason about them using orientations of care, justice and empathy. The quality of participation in the dramatisations, artistic and storytelling components ascertained that the value of fairy tales endures in the lives of these children in the form of enjoyment and creative expression.