ERIC Number: EJ1345333
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1173-6135
EISSN: EISSN-2382-0373
Picturebooks in New Caledonia: Challenging Cultural Hegemony for "Une École Calédonienne"
Boulard, Florence
Waikato Journal of Education, v27 n1 p21-35 2022
New Caledonia is a French overseas territory in the South Pacific with a long history of differing attitudes towards independence (Fisher, 2019). The local government aims to challenge French cultural hegemony by building a "New Caledonian School" (Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, 2016). That is, a school in which students are exposed to resources that reflect the realities of the country and allow for marginalised groups to become more visible in the curriculum. It is through this context that this article investigates how children's literature, in particular picturebooks, began developing in New Caledonia. Children's literature in New Caledonia is a relatively new phenomenon. Using Gramsci's theory of hegemony, the paper explains the history of picturebooks in New Caledonia and their role in the curriculum. The official language of New Caledonia is French, but there are also 28 Kanak languages. Surrounded by Anglophone nations, such as Australia and New Zealand, education policies were put in place on this island to introduce English to students from primary school (Bissoonauth-Bedford, 2018). As a result, this article describes and analyses a bilingual picturebook written in French and English by Stephane Moysan (2017), entitled Yana's Treasure: An Amazing Trip in New Caledonia. In particular, it reviews how this picturebook provides opportunities to bring to consciousness essential elements of Pacific French culture and identity both within and beyond the New Caledonian context.
Descriptors: Picture Books, English (Second Language), French, Foreign Policy, Local Government, Power Structure, Disadvantaged, Curriculum Development, Childrens Literature, Official Languages, Foreign Countries, Elementary School Students, Social Theories, Educational History, Multilingualism, Second Language Learning, Bilingualism, Self Concept, Educational Policy, Second Language Instruction
Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research. Division of Education, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand. Tel: +64-7-858-5171; Fax: +64-7-838-4712; e-mail: wmier@waikato.ac.nz; Web site: https://wje.org.nz/index.php/WJE
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Caledonia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A