Date of Award
4-1981
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Nancy Polette
Second Advisor
Jeanne Donovan
Abstract
Since children are facing many stresses both from within and without, it is felt that bibliotherapy may be a way of helping them face and cope with their problems. After a search to see if a curriculum guide had been developed to help kindergarten children through bibliotherapy, none was discovered. An extensive review of existing literature was then made to learn about children and stress at the pre-operational level, as well as an in-depth study of bibliotherapy from its history, research on bibliotherapy pertaining to young children, the qualifications of the bibliotherapist, how one determines whether the need exists, and the guidelines for selecting books to be used in bibliotherapy. After this study of the literature, the writer proceeded to read and study as many children's books with bibliotherapeutic facets as she could find in this area which turned out to be 182. After reading, the books were classified into the following topics: adoption, death, developing a good self-concept, emotions and feelings, family relationships (which included general topics, new sibling, sibling rivalry, and divorce and separation), handicaps, hospital and illness, moving and adjusting to new environments, peer relationships (friends, etc.), physical appearance, and school. Annotations were then written. The bibliotherapy goals, long term and intermediate objectives, and the curriculum guides were written. Four appendixes contain case studies, a plan sheet, helps for discovering interests and needs, and follow-up activities.
The results are a guide to help teachers help kindergarten children to meet their stresses and problems through the use of bibliotherapy.
It is the conclusion of the writer that while bibliotherapy may not be a cure-all nor bring about immediate changes in behavior in all cases, it can be an effective tool in the classroom for learning, can be a valid means of helping children cope with their problems, and can possibly prevent undue stress and problems in the future.
Recommended Citation
Semon, Marjorie J., "Bibliotherapy to Help Young Children Cope with Their Problems" (1981). Theses. 1354.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses/1354
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