The European dimension in picture books

• Main Author: Cotton, Penni
• Published: Durham University 1997
• Subjects: 371.3
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.554994

This thesis considers European picture books and how they can be used by trainee teachers in upper primary classrooms. It is divided into two parts. Part One, Chapters 1-4, develops a theoretical rationale for creating picture book material which will both implement a European dimension in education and meet the requirements of the 1995 and 1997 National Curricula for English in England. Chapter One explains the notion of a European dimension in Education; Chapter Two traces European influences on the picture book since the time of Comenius, the first picture book creator; Chapter Three discusses the 'travelability' of picture books plus their role within the learning process; and Chapter Four concludes the 6rst part of the thesis, with a literature review, by drawing the strands of the first three chapters together to create a rationale for using European picture books at Key Stage Two. Part Two, Chapters 5-8, presents the study which was devised to put this rationale into practice for initial teacher training. It establishes the core questions of the thesis; Which books might form a European collection? How can such a collection of picture books facilitate a European dimension in primary education? How can this collection enable trainee teachers to implement a European dimension at Key Stage Two of the National Curriculum for English? Chapter Five outlines the development of the European Picture Book Collection (EPBC); Chapter Six presents a brief overview of semiotic, discourse and text analysis methodologies, suggesting why a Semiotic Text Analysis (STA) is appropriate for this research; Chapter Seven applies the STA to the EPBC; and Chapter Eight explores, through a number of activities, how trainee teachers might use the EPBC materials to implement a European dimension whilst meeting National Curriculum requirements.