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A Content Analysis of Themes of Resilience in Fairytales Stephanie Goloway Walden University

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A Content Analysis of Themes of Resilience in Fairytales Stephanie Goloway Walden University Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2017 Happily Ever Resilient: A Content Analysis of Themes of Resilience in Fairytales Stephanie Goloway Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Folklore Commons, and the Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University College of Education This is to certify that the doctoral study by Stephanie Goloway has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Donald Yarosz, Committee Chairperson, Education Faculty Dr. Darragh Callahan, Committee Member, Education Faculty Dr. Nancy Williams, University Reviewer, Education Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2017 Abstract Happily Ever Resilient: A Content Analysis of Themes of Resilience in Fairytales by Stephanie Goloway MEd, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, 1986 BA, Allegheny College, 1976 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University December 2017 Abstract One in 4 children in the United States lives in a family impacted by the chronic, heritable disease of substance use disorder (SUD), also known as alcoholism or addiction. Recent research has demonstrated that resilience is a key protective factor against developing the disease in adolescence and adulthood and that the neurological roots of resilience lie in the child’s experiences in early childhood. In spite of this, few resources related to family SUD or current models of resilience are included in preservice teacher preparation for early childhood educators. This study examined whether key components of Masten’s model of resilience are found in fairytales, a form of literature commonly used in early childhood teacher preparation programs. A qualitative, descriptive, deductive content analysis was conducted on 24 fairytales from 22 different cultures, using a tool derived from Propp’s morphology of fairytales and Masten’s model of resilience. Results indicated that the texts of 96% of these stories contained multiple specific references to the 3 dominant evidence-based factors for resilience: attachment/relationships, initiative, and self-regulation. When broken into the 7 subcategories of these 3 protective factors, as identified by Masten, 9 fairytales contained examples of all 7 protective factors; 9 had examples of 6, and another 5 had examples of 5. The results of this study may be used to provide teacher educators with resources to better prepare preservice early childhood teachers to understand and nurture resilience in children, while addressing existing mandated learning objectives related to emergent literacy. This will benefit all children the teachers will work with, but especially those who are impacted by SUD and other forms of trauma. Happily Ever Resilient: A Content Analysis of Themes of Resilience in Fairytales by Stephanie Goloway MEd, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, 1986 BA, Allegheny College, 1976 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University December 2017 Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my beloved lifelong friend and husband, Mike Hospodar. His openness and insight into his decades-long battle with substance use disorder and his willingness to fight it with his whole heart and soul until the end taught me more about the disease than a thousand peer-reviewed references ever could. He wanted, more than even his own recovery, for others to be spared from the suffering he endured, and believed that early childhood was the place to begin. While the SUD dragon may have snatched away our own chance at happily ever-aftering, it is my hope that this work will help teachers joyfully and playfully nurture resilience in all children, so that they can claim the happy endings they so richly deserve. Acknowledgments I gratefully acknowledge my chair, Dr. Donald Yarosz, for encouraging and supporting me on this journey, even when he couldn’t see the path I was on as I trudged through the dark forest. I would also like to thank Dr. Darragh Callahan, whose interest in the storytelling/storyacting pedagogy of Vivian Paley during my last class encouraged me to follow my heart as I circled around a topic for this study. In addition, Dr. Nancy Williams was a thoughtful and thorough URR, whose suggestions contributed significantly to the strength of this project. I would like to thank my family, especially my parents, Ed and Phyllis Goloway, for always believing that I would get my doctorate, and my children, Zeke and Jinnie Templin, who put up with having a mom who would rather tell them fairytales than bake them cookies like the other mothers. They have all cheered me on every step of the way. Finally, I am grateful for my friends and colleagues who have provided constructive feedback, encouragement, and the occasional magical elixir to keep me going even when I wanted to stop. Table of Contents List of Tables .......................................................................................................................v Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study ....................................................................................1 Background ....................................................................................................................2 Problem Statement .........................................................................................................8 Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................9 Research Questions ........................................................................................................9 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................10 Nature of the Study ......................................................................................................12 Definitions....................................................................................................................15 Assumptions .................................................................................................................18 Scope and Delimitations ..............................................................................................19 Limitations ...................................................................................................................20 Significance..................................................................................................................22 Summary ......................................................................................................................22 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................24 Literature Search Strategy............................................................................................25 The Conceptual Framework .........................................................................................27 Literature Review Related to Key Concepts and Variables.........................................30 Substance Use Disorder (SUD) ...................................................................................31 Overview of Current Research.............................................................................. 32 Impact of SUD on Children .................................................................................. 38 Resilience as a Protective Factor .................................................................................41 i Research Models and Supporting Evidence ......................................................... 41 Key Protective Factors for Resilience................................................................... 47 Self-Regulation ..................................................................................................... 53 Executive Functions .............................................................................................. 57 Early Childhood Curriculum and Resilience ...............................................................66 Early Childhood Programs Related to Resilience ................................................. 69 Paley’s Pedagogy and Resilience: Research ......................................................... 70 The Role of Stories in Promoting Early Childhood SEL .............................................75 Use of Story to Address “Sensitive Issues” .......................................................... 76 Use of Story to Build Resilience ........................................................................... 80 Paley’s Use of Story.............................................................................................. 84 Fairytales and Resilience .............................................................................................88 Folkloristic Study
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