Fairy tale reception of lower grade primary school children in theatre plays

Polazeći od samoinicijativnih istraživanja i pretpostavke da djeca imaju potrebu čitati, a potom i gledati određene bajke zbog osobnog užitka ili pak dublje psihološke naravi, ovaj rad istražuje recepciju bajke u kazališnim predstavama kod djece u nižim razredima osnovne škole. U radu je prikazan teoretski uvod u bajku kao književnu vrstu, objašnjena je važnost, smisao i značenje bajki u književnoumjetničkom smislu povezujući njene osnovne karakteristike sa psihološkim razvojem djece u kasnijem djetinjstvu. Anketa provedena u nižim razredima osnovne škole potvrđuje pretpostavku da djeca više vole gledati nego čitati bajke, da osjećaju određenu vrstu ushita kada su u kazalištu, ali i ne nužno da se poistovjećuju s likovima/junacima ili pak osjećaju određenu vrstu empatije prema njima. Vrlo zanimljivo saznanje jest i da određeni broj djece ne prepoznaje/ne vidi razlike između dobrih i loših likova/junaka.Starting from self-study research and the assumption that children have a need to read and watch fairy tales for their personal enjoyment or due to the deeper psychological nature, this piece of work explores the fairy tale reception of young primary school children in theatre plays. It presents the theoretical introduction to fairy tale as a literary genre as well as the significance and meaning of fairy tales in a literary sense. They are explained by linking its basic characteristics to psychological development of children in later childhood. The survey conducted in lower grades of primary school confirms the assumption that children prefer to watch rather than read fairy tales. They feel excited when they are in theatre but do not necessarily identify themselves with literary characters/heroes. Young audience also feels a kind of empathy towards them. A very interesting discovery is that a number of children does not recognize nor see the differences between good and bad characters