Socialisation through Children's Literature
The Soviet Example

Felicity O'Dell analyses the moral content of stories read by Russian primary school children and asks what values are taught and how they reflect ideology.

Felicity Ann O'Dell (Author)

9780521144377, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 June 2010

290 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.6 kg

This 1922 publication asks the following questions regarding the nature of Soviet socialisation: how different are Soviet moral values from our own; how do their processes of socialisation differ from those we know in the West; could we learn from the Russian educational system; or are Soviet children simply indoctrinated with the beliefs of their political leaders? Felicity O'Dell analyses the moral content of the stories read by Russian primary school children and asks what values are taught and how they reflect ideology. She also looks at popular children's magazines and the way writers have portrayed the world for children in the USSR. The author asks how successfully the educational process instils the values of Soviet socialism. She documents how closely children's literature mirrors the development of Russian society, and draws conclusions relevant not just to the nature of Soviet society but also to the Western method of raising children.

List of tables
Acknowledgements
Part I. Introduction: 1. Children's literature and social control
2. Character-education and its theories
Part II. Soviet Children's literature: 3. Production and dissemination
4. The primary school reader
5. 'Murzilka'
6. Conclusions
Part III. The Impact of Soviet Children's Literature: 7. Sociological surveys
8. Development of specific character traits
9. Secular morality and myths
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: General & world history [HBG]