Children’s perceptions of folktales and narration in Greece: Evidence from a novel micro-data set

This paper presents the results of a novel survey of pupils in Greek schools regarding children’s opinions and ideas about folktales, as part of their culture, communication practices and as an educational tool. The survey was conducted during the school year 2004-2005 by scholars representing different scientific fields and universities. The sample consists of a large number of participants (2283 pupils from the last three classes of the Greek elementary school) and covers both urban and rural areas.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the complex relation of children with the world of folktales as a means of reshaping through them the known world. Therefore both the survey questionnaire and the subsequent results examine the role of folktales in children’s cultural representations, family and intercultural relations and as part of the educational process. All these must be seen not only with the aim of utilizing folktales for educational purposes but also in designing the content, form, goals and methods of an alternative multicultural educational system.

In addition to demographic and family background information, the questionnaire addresses the two primary potential contexts of folktale diffusion in modern times, one private (the space of home and family) and one public (the school). It also examines the impact of the cultural industry in the formation of these perceptions.