In her thesis, Pedagogical Representations of Evil in Preschool, Kristina Pautkina, doctoral student in education, has examined how phenomena such as cruelty and suffering – summarised as evil – are represented in preschools. Her thesis builds upon interviews with eleven preschool teachers and an analysis of children’s books in which evil is described through stories and symbols.

Difficult issues reinterpreted as issues relating to core values

The results show that educators rarely use the word evil. Instead, they try to explain difficult experiences to children by focusing on security, empathy and the preschool’s core values. This is described as a way to protect children from what is perceived as overwhelming – as a way of preserving a positive outlook on the world. Educators view preschool as a safe place and circumvent difficult and dark topics, avoiding language that expresses blame or negative moral judgements.

“In many cases, they make sure that strong judgemental concepts do not become associated with individual children. Of course, sometimes it is a matter of protecting children from things that are considered inappropriate or which could harm them. There may also be a reluctance to clash with the values of children’s parents or guardians or with their own colleagues,” says Kristina Pautkina.

Children’s books create space for dark experiences

However, the children’s books studied in the second part of the thesis paint a different picture. They depict evil through stories of a hostile world, moral ambivalence and themes such as death and loss. Classic and modern fairy tales allow children to encounter difficult emotions indirectly and symbolically in a meaningful way, with room for existential reflection.

“Literature places the conversation about evil in a fictional world, not the shared social world we live in. This makes it possible to explore darkness in a freer way, because the landscape becomes abstract, while symbolic language can speak powerfully to a child,” says Pautkina.

An important educational dilemma

The contrast highlights an important dilemma in education: the balance between wanting to protect children on the one hand, and on the other hand giving them a language for understanding reality and making sense of cruelty and suffering.

“Completely avoiding difficult subjects can make it more difficult for children to process things they encounter in everyday life, such as conflicts, illness or unpleasant news in the media. But speaking too directly about existential issues requires a caution that preschools, with good reason, safeguard,” says Pautkina.