Gender education as countering violence and promoting otherness through picture books

Abstract

Reading leads to the assumption of a perspective different from one’s own, inducing an inevitable re-evaluation of the self and promoting active listening. From this perspective, picture books are powerful educational tools capable of raising awareness of gender equality, of the prevention of violence and the construction of an inclusive social imaginary. The contribution analyses the use of picture books as vehicles of values of equality, equity and respectthrough field research conducted in an Apulian primary school. The study involved 72 boys and girlswho were offered workshops to read picture books selected for their ability to address issues related to diversity and acceptance of “different.”