Niharika Singh
ABES Engineering College
Ghaziabad, India
Abstract
This abstract delves into the rich tapestry of Telugu children’s literature produced between 1950 and 2000, examining its multifaceted role in shaping value-based education among young readers. Over the course of this half-century, Telugu authors, educators, and publishers collaborated—directly or indirectly—to craft narratives that fostered moral development, cultural continuity, and social responsibility. By drawing on a corpus of fifty carefully selected seminal works, including story collections, serialized magazine tales, and standalone novels, this study adopts a mixed‐methods approach: quantitative content analysis identifies the prevalence and interplay of core ethical themes (such as honesty, compassion, respect, duty, and courage), while qualitative interviews with experienced Telugu‐medium educators and focus‐group discussions with adult readers provide nuanced insights into pedagogical applications and lifelong impacts. The analysis reveals that these texts employed a variety of narrative strategies—first‐person perspectives, allegorical animal fables, dialogue‐driven formats, and richly illustrated panels—to engage children of varying literacy levels and backgrounds. Moreover, the literature responded adaptively to socio‐economic changes—rural‐to‐urban migration, scientific temper, and national integration—integrating contemporary concerns without severing ties to traditional folklore. Educators report that incorporating such stories into classroom routines enhanced students’ ethical reasoning, cooperation, and empathy, while adult readers attest to the enduring influence of childhood encounters with value‐laden tales in their personal and civic behavior. The study underscores the pedagogical efficacy of regional‐language literature in embedding moral education within culturally resonant narratives. It concludes by offering concrete recommendations for modern curriculum designers to integrate Telugu stories into formal and informal educational settings, and by proposing avenues for future research on digital adaptations, inter‐linguistic comparisons, and longitudinal assessments of literature‐based moral instruction.
Keywords
Telugu Children’s Literature, Value-Based Education, Moral Development, Cultural Transmission, Pedagogical Narratives
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