| Summary: | This thesis is about the German children’s book ‘The flying classroom’ [Das fliegende Klassenzimmer] written by the author Erich Kästner. The living conditions and requirements for upbringing have changed since the book was first published in 1933, and yet Kästner’s book conveys values and educational intentions that, in my opinion, are still relevant and valuable today in relation to the educational goals of the contemporary school system. To strengthen this hypothesis, I analysed which values and virtues are being propagated, what the intention behind those are, and how they are being represented in the children’s book and its latest adaption from 2003. My focus is on the character of the teacher Dr Bökh alias Justus, the just. In order to investigate Kästner’s educational intentions, I used a qualitative and intermedial content analysis with the book as a starting point and compared it with the adaption of 2003 to examine possible differences between them. Furthermore, I’m interested in what is expected and demanded of today’s teacher, the image one has of him or her, and how this relates to the teacher figure in Kästner’s children’s book. In order to come closer to answering the research question, I also examined external factors, such as historical contexts, to be able to justify possible changes in the communication of values during the period post-war until today. My thesis aims to show that – although times have changed – the values conveyed in the children’s book have remained the same and the book is thus attributed to authentic Zeitgeist.
|
|---|
