Κείμενα λαϊκής παράδοσης και σύγχρονης λογοτεχνίας
Authors: Σέργη Ιωάννα 
Published: August 2021

In this paper we explore the concept of self-actualization and the prerequisite conceptof tolerance of frustration within the folk and the “literary” (which is written by anauthor) fairytale. For this purpose we chose, through a large body of stories, fourfairytales, two folk and two “literary”. The former folk and “literary” ones deal with selfactualizationof the heroes and the latter ones with frustration. The research is qualitative andin depth and it was implemented in a group of 20 infants, aged 5-6 years,with the following triple reasoning:Fairytale is a very popular genre with young children and it is also an everyday learningtool in kindergarten schools, especially the “literary” kind, mainly due to its printedand pictorial form. When it comes to folk tale there is still some reluctance, mostly becauseof inadequate training of many teachers on its psycho-educational function, but also due tothe lack of publications of original folk tales in the nursery schools’ libraries.Preschool age is a crucial period for the development of the individual’s personality.Consequently, we need to constantly explore and develop appropriate and effectiveeducational tools.The concepts of self-actualization and frustration are timely as ever, due to constant andunpredictable changes, reversals and cancellations, in which children as tomorrow'scitizens will be called to respond effectively and be able to adapt to, and educators in theirdifficult task and their challenging new role as thoughtful and critical people.Given the lack of studies on folk tale in which the views of children are included, theshortage on studies on “literary” fairytale, and a lack of comparative studies on theeffectiveness of the two types, we believe that this thesis is original and useful to anyoneinterested in both the theoretical and operational level of pedagogy.The study includes both a theoretical and a researching approach. Initially we examined theconcept of the story and secondly, the concepts of self-actualization and frustration at atheoretical level, taking into account the most important parameters which constitute them, aswell as the way they appear in the fairytale. Through the theoretical study we identified andranked the personality traits of a self-actualized person and a person with low tolerance tofrustration. These features were, at research level, the reference point for identifying, at firstthrough content analysis, which is the first step in the methodological design of research, thepersonality of the main heroes and heroines of fairy tales that we used in comparison with theanti-heroes and heroines whose personality does not exist. Then, the research developed at alevel of pedagogical operation in four sessions with the children on the nursery premises withan interval pause of approximately 10 days. In these sessions we included organizedactivities, with the key research tools being sketches and interviews, and finally we proceeded with the thematic analysis and categorization of the children’s sketches towardsthe concept of self-actualization and the concept of frustration, while we also includedthe variable of gender.After reading each story from the text without illustration, we asked the children, basedon a specific, depending on the circumstances of the story and open-ended question, torepresent their response in drawing. After that, we asked each child a series of questions,which we formed based mainly on the Corman model. Since interviewing toddlers cannot beeffective, we used the children's sketches at a projective level, i.e. as a toolfor exploring children’s emotions and personality. As a matter of fact, given that the age ofchildren in our sample falls in the process of intellectual realism, which is consideredthe golden age of childhood sketching, we relied on this to make it easier for childrento respond to our questions and to draw safer conclusions. .In summary, the survey showed that the folk tale triggered the mechanism ofidentification, so children of either sex recognized the effectiveness of the main heroor heroine and adopted their characteristics, behaviors and attitudes that construct theconcept of, both selfish and altruistic, self-actualization, since it gave them the ability toexceed through undertaking, in an imaginary level, the dominant role withinitiatives, responsiveness and the ability to make changes towards the common good.Additionally, it appeared to help foster the adaptive ability of children insubversive situations and urged them to focus on creative problem-solving with a hightolerate to frustration.The “literary” tale triggered only the incentive for selfish self-actualization, while in manychildren caused pessimism, regression, withdrawal, passivity and a feeling of inadequacy,while dragged some towards search of convenience.The gender of children did not seem to play an important role in triggering themechanism of identification with fairytale heroes of the opposite sex in any of the tales.Regarding to the final question, which asked children to indicate their preference for one ofthe four stories they heard during the respective phases of the research process, the two folktales draw the preference of the vast majority of children with clear and detailed justificationbased on tolerance to frustration, problem solving, goal achievement and self-actualization ofthe heroes.