Supporting young children’s metaphorical engagement through a symbol literacy approach

Abstract

This paper reports on an investigation into the potential effects of the Symbol Literacy Approach (SLA) on the metaphorical reasoning of 25 five-year-old children attending a Maltese Catholic School. This was implemented via six pedagogical activities comprising the ‘St. Michael Project’, which sought to prompt the children’s symbolic engagement with the Judeo-Christian myth concerning the triumph of Archangel Michael against Lucifer. In the final activity, the children’s observation, role-play and conversation were prompted in relation to a 17th-century Flemish painting depicting St. Michael, after which the children were invited to draw pictures of anything the activity had made them think about. The research data comprised video recordings of conversations held with the children during the drawing process as well as photographs of the finalised pictures. Thematic analysis subsequently revealed that the SLA had supported most of the children to engage in metaphorical reasoning, while illuminating various facets of this pivotal cognitive process.