Module: Storybooks for Citizenship Education

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Storybooks for Citizenship Education
Module Code	EDP1042 (ITS: SG307)
Faculty	STEM Ed, Innov, Global Studies	School	DCU Institute of Education
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

Picturebooks can be used to support children’s engagement with and learning in different curriculum areas. In particular they can support children’s creativity, empathy, critical thinking, critical literacy, and engagement with and discussion of local and global citizenship issues. This module supports students in exploring the use of picturebooks in global citizenship education. Students explore picturebook theory including the multimodal dynamic of picturebooks, different genre’s of picturebooks and different areas of picturebook research including with regard to inclusive and intercultural education. The module explores a range of different approaches to teaching using picturebooks including philosophy for children and inquiry-based science. Students examine a wide variety of picturebooks with global citizenship education related content and plan for cross-curricular teaching using picturebooks. The module supports students in selecting picturebooks with particular regard to representation and authenticity in picturebooks. The module also encourages students’ own creativity including opportunities for creative writing and picturebook art and design.

Learning Outcomes

1. Reflect on and discuss their own values and opinions regarding global citizenship issues and conceptualisations of children through the use of picturebooks.
2. Discuss the multimodal dynamics of picturebooks with regard to the relationship between text, images and design features.
3. Plan for the use of picturebooks across class levels to support children’s critical literacy, critical thinking and discussion skills.
4. Plan for the use of picturebooks across class levels to support children’s learning in different curriculum areas and their exploration of global citizenship issues.
5. Critique, assess and select picturebooks with consideration of the perspectives and teaching opportunities they present and issues of representation, authenticity and stereotyping.
6. Respond creatively to global citizenship issues through creative writing, art and design.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Seminars	24	Interactive seminars
Independent Study	51	Reading and research
Assignment Completion	50	Completing assessment for the course
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	20268	Part of Term	Semester 2
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Rowan Oberman	Module Teacher	Maria Barry

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Assignment	Create aspects of a picturebook with a global citizenship theme or create lesson plans using a picturebook with a global citizenship related theme.	60%	Once per semester
Assignment	Rationale for picturebook or lesson plans	40%	Once per semester

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Picturebook Theory
Students will:

explore the multimodal dynamic of picturebooks;

explore areas of picturebook research;

be introducted to a wide variety of picturebooks including: classic narrative picturebooks, postmodern picturebooks, wordless picturebooks, biography, fairy tales and nonfiction informational picturebooks.

Picturebooks with Global Citizenship Themes
Using picturebooks students will explore the themes of migration, climate change, anti-racism and children rights and consider how these picturebooks can support exploration of these themes in primary schools.

Picturebook Pedagogies
Students will explore the use of picturebooks in inquiry-based learning including philosophy for children. The approaches will support learning across a range of curriculum areas and with different ages.

Creating Picturebooks
Students will respond creatively to global citizenship themes including through creative writing, creating little picturebooks, storyboarding and experimenting with different picturebook art and design techniques.

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Anne M. Dolan: 2014, You, Me, and Diversity, Trentham Books Limited, 188, 1858565227
Mary Roche: 0, Developing Children's Critical Thinking Through Picturebooks, 0415727723
Julia Hope: 2017, Children's Literature about Refugees, Trentham Books, 201, 1858566967
Joanna Haynes,Karin Murris: 0, Picturebooks, Pedagogy and Philosophy, 9780415817929
Evelyn Arizpe,Teresa Colomer,Carmen Martínez-Roldán: 2014, Visual Journeys Through Wordless Narratives, Bloomsbury Publishing, 288, 178093758X

Articles:

Arizpe, E.: 2021, The state of the art in picturebook research from 2010 to 2020., Language Arts 98 (5), 260-272., 52702
2016: Drawings as Imaginative Expressions of Philosophical Ideas in a Grade 2 South African Literacy Classroom., Reading & Writing: Journal of the Reading Association of South Africa, 7(2)., 52703, 1
Children’s Agency for Taking Action.: Bookbird, 50(4), 41–50.,

Other Resources

None