“And what was the lesson that the crow learned?” Children's understanding of fables

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate children's understanding of fables from a developmental perspective, seeking to identify the difficulties in relation to the moral lesson. Eighty children in the 1^st and 3^rd grades of elementary school were individually asked to answer questions about a fable presented in audio format. One of the questions referred to the moral lesson. The answers to this question were analyzed qualitatively through a system of categories that expresses how children develop their understanding of the moral lesson. The data showed that the children of the 3^rd grade performed better than those of the 1^st grade. However, for both groups, the difficulty in understanding the moral lesson was expressive. The progression identified in the understanding of the moral lesson seems to be associated with the notion of detachment and generality in relation to what is conveyed in the text.