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Wasted sustainable children’s books: A critical analysis on German children’s picture storybooks on environmental behavior

Koepper, Jasmin LU (2023) HEKM51 20231
Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
Abstract
Over the past years, there has been a boom of children’s books on environ- mental topics in Germany reflecting the prominence of sustainability discussions in society. These children’s books are influential in shaping the worldview and behavior of the children, which will most likely be affected by increasing environmental and social challenges in the future. From an ecocritical and ecopedagogical standpoint, this study examines five
German children’s picture storybooks on environmental topics, through a textual and pictorial content analysis, regarding their portrayal of environmental problems and solutions thereof, and the portrayal of nature and child characters. The findings indicate that the books do barely convey ecocritical and... (More)
Over the past years, there has been a boom of children’s books on environ- mental topics in Germany reflecting the prominence of sustainability discussions in society. These children’s books are influential in shaping the worldview and behavior of the children, which will most likely be affected by increasing environmental and social challenges in the future. From an ecocritical and ecopedagogical standpoint, this study examines five
German children’s picture storybooks on environmental topics, through a textual and pictorial content analysis, regarding their portrayal of environmental problems and solutions thereof, and the portrayal of nature and child characters. The findings indicate that the books do barely convey ecocritical and ecopedagogical claims. Environmental problems are mostly portrayed as simple and depoliticized on a small, local scale and are solved through individual behavioral changes, by overlooking underlying systemic reasons and the interconnectedness of social and environmental problems. Most of the books rely on an anthropocentric perspective and portray natural environments as alienated or even absent objects, scenic backgrounds, or animal characters, whom children have empathy with. Nevertheless, the books do enhance community-based solutional approaches to environmental problems. There are practical ideas needed on how to design children’s books that adequately include children in the environmental discussion, without burdening them with a problem their ancestors and a capitalistic system have caused. (Less)
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author
Koepper, Jasmin LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM51 20231
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
9134320
date added to LUP
2023-09-18 16:25:50
date last changed
2023-09-18 16:25:50
@misc{9134320,
  abstract     = {{Over the past years, there has been a boom of children’s books on environ- mental topics in Germany reflecting the prominence of sustainability discussions in society. These children’s books are influential in shaping the worldview and behavior of the children, which will most likely be affected by increasing environmental and social challenges in the future. From an ecocritical and ecopedagogical standpoint, this study examines five
German children’s picture storybooks on environmental topics, through a textual and pictorial content analysis, regarding their portrayal of environmental problems and solutions thereof, and the portrayal of nature and child characters. The findings indicate that the books do barely convey ecocritical and ecopedagogical claims. Environmental problems are mostly portrayed as simple and depoliticized on a small, local scale and are solved through individual behavioral changes, by overlooking underlying systemic reasons and the interconnectedness of social and environmental problems. Most of the books rely on an anthropocentric perspective and portray natural environments as alienated or even absent objects, scenic backgrounds, or animal characters, whom children have empathy with. Nevertheless, the books do enhance community-based solutional approaches to environmental problems. There are practical ideas needed on how to design children’s books that adequately include children in the environmental discussion, without burdening them with a problem their ancestors and a capitalistic system have caused.}},
  author       = {{Koepper, Jasmin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Wasted sustainable children’s books: A critical analysis on German children’s picture storybooks on environmental behavior}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}