The Idea of “Inequality” in Alternative Textbooks for Primary School

Abstract

The formation of primary school children involves a multitude of aspects that are based (by examples and by counterexamples) not only on the activities carried out in the classroom, but also on the concrete materials used or referred to in the educational instructive approach. In this context, this paper proposes an analysis of the texts presented in the alternative textbooks of Communication in Romanian / Romanian Language and Literature, used in Romania, in primary school. The target analysis criteria essentially converge to the identification of the main coordinates that can be seen in these texts (human typologies, values, gender characteristics, cultural, social characteristics, etc.); these may be prerequisites to explore, at this age, the idea of “inequality” and its implications in the relationship / socialization / communication. Starting with the elements identified in the textbooks, primary teachers may propose / use, on the one hand, certain methods to approach – critically / personalized / adapted and, at the same time, responsible, anchored in everyday life and in contemporary world, and on the other hand, alternatives to literary texts (from Romanian / universal children's literature) and non-literacy (older or newer, distributed through mass-media, social media, etc.).