A Case for Using Indigenous Children's Literature for Emotion Socialization in Schools

Abstract

Building on the work of developmental theorists, this article argues that school is a significant cultural site for emotion socialization and that the use of cultural texts such as children's picture books can play an important role in helping young children to identify and express emotions, and learn about their relational context. The author takes the perspective that teaching and learning about emotions are never neutral; they are complex, dialectical and are freighted by history, relations of power and influenced by factors such as race, class, gender, and language. As a way of countering social devaluation, exclusion and omission, the article makes a case for using children's texts that feature the cultural and family contexts of indigenous groups such as the Métis of Canada. It shows how culturally relevant and developmentally appropriate picture books that are rich with emotion-related themes and vocabulary can be used in schools to teach about the cultural and family contexts of emotion socialization.