유아를 위한 그림책에 나타난 죽음의 의미 탐색

Abstract

ABSTRACT Explanation of the Meanings of Death Appearing in Young Children’s Picture Books

Kim, Young-bo Advisor : Prof. Seo, Hyun, Ed. D Major in Child Education Graduate School of Education Chosun University

This study purposed to analyze the meanings of death appearing in picture books on the target of picture books related to death on the premise that it is important to understand objects of death through young children’s picture books, and to establish the concepts of death. In other words, this study aims at helping young children to prepare a happy life by letting them know what the death is like from the stage of young childhood through picture books friendly to them, getting rid of the anxiety and fear of death, and conceptualizing appropriate thoughts on death. This study was to present actual support for the education field to reasonably and systemically understand the positive values of death that young children experience through picture books. The purpose of this study also lied in systemizing the picture book list related to death to utilize picture books for young children’s education of death.

According to the study purposes above, this study assumed research questions below: 1. How are the objects of death appearing in young children’s picture books described? 2. How are the concepts of death appearing in young children’s picture books established? 3. How are the meanings of death appearing in young children’s picture books represented?

This study employed the content analysis as a research method. First, from October to December 2011, we collected picture books that can be included in picture books eligible for the analysis. In non-probability purposive sampling, we primarily chose 64 picture books that deal with death in reference to recent previous studies related to death appearing in picture books, and to related overseas and domestic books, the Korea library association, and internet bookstores. And then, from October 2011 to February 2012, we categorized them into the object of death, the concepts of death, and the meaning of death according to in picture books. Of those we primarily collected, we secondarily chose 32 picture books that were judged appropriate for attributes of good death concepts by Lee Gyeong-ju et al. (2006). In the end, the analysis of each book’s content was performed from October 2011 to April 2012. According to the criterion table in appendix 2, we classified 24 finally chosen picture books, and those classified books were again sub-classified as words on death, upper concept on words and lower concept on words. We named the contents of classification and made a categorized list. Also, through reading, analyzing and inferring the derived various words, phrases, and clauses, we created explainable new concepts and categories of them and generated meanings by representing them as subjects. As for the analysis of the contents of picture books, by repeating modify-remodify similar categories, we yielded the objects of death, the concepts of death, and the meanings of death.

Following are the results of this study: Firstly, it was found that the objects of death appearing in young children’s picture books were grand-parents, parents, brothers and sisters, friends, pet-animals, sons and daughters, friend’s parents, himself/herself, others, etc. Secondly, it was found that the concepts of death appearing in young children’s picture books were ‘I am going to get separated someday,’ ‘I can’t see death once again,’ ‘I can’t die even though I want to,’ ‘Death has a cause,’ ‘Living creatures are to get aged,’ ‘When you die, you go to another world.’ Thirdly, it was found that the meanings of death appearing in young children’s picture books were ‘ceaseless continuance of time of anxiety and fear: anxiety,’ ‘isolated time of nothing you can do: insensibility,’ ‘time of memories that pop up repeatedly: nostalgia,’ ‘choice of time with nothing to do: compromise,’ ‘sad but beautiful time: acknowledgment,’ ‘time of another life: surmount.’

In conclusion, it is expected that exploration in depth of the objects of death, the concepts of death, and the meanings of death appearing in young children’s picture books by way of using the content analysis research method helps to bring the positive values of death that young children experience in picture books to young children’s education field with reasonable and systemic understanding of them. At the same time, with a trial to practice the death education for young children, this study is to be presented as empirical basic data. It suggests that what death should mean to young children and that it is necessary to provide death education in order to understand what death is.

Key words: young children’s picture books , death