Fairy Tales as a Bridge to Child Development and the Role of Artificial Intelligence
1. Introduction
In early childhood (ages 3–7), fairy tales play a key role in education and upbringing. They shape values, develop language and communication skills, stimulate imagination, and lay the foundation for future critical thinking (Bettelheim, 1976; Zipes, 1999). In the context of modern technologies, artificial intelligence offers new approaches and methods to use fairy tales in engaging, interactive, and adaptive ways (Holmes, Bialik & Fadel, 2019; Chen, Chen & Lin, 2020).
This article explores how the deep psychological and pedagogical principles of fairy tales can be combined with the powerful tools provided by AI to enhance the effectiveness and enjoyment of learning for preschool children.
2. Theoretical Foundations of Fairy Tales in Early Childhood
2.1. Psychological Perspective
The Psychoanalytic Approach to Fairy Tales
Bruno Bettelheim (1976) emphasizes how magical stories speak the “language” of the unconscious. They offer symbolic solutions to childhood fears and conflicts, allowing children to overcome emotional tensions in a safe and imaginative way.
Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969) notes that children aged 3–7 are in the preoperational stage of thinking, dominated by egocentric perspectives and imagination. Fairy tales, with their fantastic elements, help children absorb basic concepts through stories that are accessible to their mental and imaginative framework.
Sociocultural Approach
Lev Vygotsky (1978) highlights the importance of social interaction and the role of language in child development. Fairy tales can become a shared group activity – joint reading, discussions, role-playing – through which children develop speech and social skills.
2.2. Pedagogical Perspective
Formation of Values and Morality
Fairy tales traditionally contrast good and evil, showing how positive traits (courage, honesty, kindness) are rewarded, while negative ones (lying, betrayal) are punished (Zipes, 1999). These clear behavioral models help form a moral foundation.
Preschool Methodology
Neshev (2010) summarizes the methodology of teaching literature and emphasizes that fairy tales support comprehensive language development. Regular storytelling and retelling enrich children’s vocabulary, foster literacy, and encourage creative thinking.
Integration into the Curriculum
Modern early childhood education programs (Broström, 2017) recommend a blend of play-based and literary learning. Fairy tales naturally fit into this model, offering both enjoyment and educational value.
3. Key Benefits of Fairy Tales for Children Aged 3–7
Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence
Fairy tales often depict intense emotions (fear, joy, sadness, enthusiasm), helping children to recognize and name them (Bettelheim, 1976).
Situations involving separation, overcoming obstacles, or examples of friendship and empathy contribute to emotional awareness and the development of empathy.
Formation of Values and Morality
Classic tales (e.g., The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood) demonstrate that hard work, kindness, and honesty lead to success.
Shared readings and follow-up discussions teach children to consider different perspectives and to evaluate the ethical aspects of situations.
Language and Speech Development
Children acquire new vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical structures by listening to and retelling stories (Bettelheim & Zelan, 1982; Marinak & Gambrell, 2016).
Rhythmic phrases, rhymes, and repetition in traditional tales enhance phonological awareness and a sense of language rhythm.
Stimulating Imagination and Creative Thinking
Magical elements (talking animals, enchanted objects) expand children’s understanding of the world (Zipes, 1999).
Children easily engage in creative activities like illustrating scenes, inventing new characters, and creating alternative endings.
Preparation for Critical Thinking
Many fairy tales include puzzles and dilemmas (e.g., Hansel and Gretel – how to escape the witch?), encouraging children to seek solutions.
When retelling, the teacher can ask questions like “Why did the character act that way?” or “What would happen if…?”, promoting logical connections and analysis (Neshev, 2010).
4. The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Supporting Learning Through Fairy Tales
Although fairy tales have existed for centuries, today we can “modernize” them with the help of technology. Artificial intelligence is already widely used in education (Holmes, Bialik & Fadel, 2019; Papert, 1980), and the following subsections illustrate concrete ways AI can be integrated into storytelling lessons.
4.1. Story Generation and Adaptation
Personalized Stories
With AI tools, a teacher can input keywords (favorite animals, characters, themes) and receive original or adapted stories tailored to the interests of a specific group of children (Holmes et al., 2019).
Example: Applications like Storybird, NovelAI, or other machine learning-based tools can generate stories at a chosen language complexity level.
Adaptive Difficulty
AI systems can track each child’s progress and language skills (reading, listening, retelling) and adjust the complexity or vocabulary range of the story (Chen et al., 2020).
Example: If a child demonstrates advanced vocabulary, the system introduces more challenging words.
4.2. Interactive Applications and Games
Robots and Virtual Assistants
AI-equipped robotic systems can “tell” stories, modulate their voice according to the plot, and even “react” emotionally using animated screens (Luckin, 2018).
Example: A small robot can role-play story characters, while children respond to questions like “How is the character feeling now?”
Game-Based Platforms with AR or VR Elements
Some AI platforms combine sound, images, and 3D environments where children can “enter” the story and help create its continuation (Zawacki-Richter et al., 2019).
Example: AR apps where, by pointing a tablet at a book or map, animated characters appear on the screen.
4.3. Progress Analysis and Adaptive Quizzes
Comprehension and Emotional Response Assessment
Using voice recognition and emotion analysis technology (e.g., face recognition, if used ethically and responsibly), teachers can receive summaries of when children are most engaged or where they struggle (Holmes et al., 2019).
Example: An AI tool evaluates children’s responses after the story and “highlights” for the teacher which parts were well understood and which were challenging.
Personalized Exercises
AI-based software can offer increasingly complex questions, track each child’s achievements, and suggest additional activities suited to their strengths and weaknesses (Chen et al., 2020).
Example: Automatically generated vocabulary games tailored to each child’s current language level.
4.4. Teacher Support and Classroom Management
Simplified Lesson Planning
AI tools can categorize fairy tales by theme (e.g., friendship, courage, family), language difficulty, genre, etc., helping teachers quickly find appropriate materials (Holmes et al., 2019).
Detailed Reports on Each Child’s Development
After lessons, AI platforms can generate reports showing how each child performed (e.g., which tasks were difficult, which story themes were most engaging).
5. Sample Lesson Structure with a Fairy Tale and AI Elements
1. Selecting the Fairy Tale and Preparing Materials
The teacher selects a story (either a classic or AI-generated one) based on the theme of the lesson (e.g., “friendship”).
Visual materials, AR/VR elements, or robotic systems are prepared, if available.
2. Reading and Experiencing the Story
The teacher or an AI assistant tells the story.
Children are invited to respond to prediction questions such as: “What do you think the character will do next?”
An AI platform (if technically available) records children’s reactions, attention span, and engagement levels.
3. Discussion and Reflection
The teacher guides a conversation about the characters’ feelings, moral choices, and possible alternative endings.
AI can suggest automatically generated questions for individual or group discussions.
4. Practical/Creative Activities
Children draw or model scenes from the story, create new characters, or change the ending.
With the help of an AI image generator (e.g., DALL·E, Midjourney), children can visualize their ideas through automatically created images.
5. Assessment and Feedback
The AI system provides a brief analysis of what was best understood, which areas need improvement, and who might need extra support.
The teacher receives a report and uses it to plan the next steps.
6. Ethical and Practical Considerations
Data Protection and Privacy
When using AI platforms, especially with young children, it is of utmost importance to follow ethical principles and comply with data protection legislation (European Commission, 2019).
This includes ensuring informed consent from parents, using secure platforms, and avoiding the collection of unnecessary personal data.
Responsible Use of AI
Teachers must ensure that technology does not overshadow live interaction and emotional connection with the children.
AI should serve as a supportive tool—not a substitute for human presence and empathy (Luckin, 2018).
Teacher Training
To effectively implement AI tools, educators need at least basic technological and methodological skills.
This includes understanding how AI applications work, how to interpret the data they provide, and how to integrate them meaningfully into the curriculum (Holmes et al., 2019).
7. Conclusion
Fairy tales are a powerful “bridge” to the world of children – a world where fantasy and reality often intertwine to form the foundation of core values, language competencies, and emotional intelligence. The potential of modern technology, and artificial intelligence in particular, offers new ways to enrich traditional educational approaches, providing more personalized, interactive, and traceable learning experiences.
The combination of classical theories of child development (Bettelheim, 1976; Piaget & Inhelder, 1969; Vygotsky, 1978) and educational innovations (Holmes et al., 2019; Chen et al., 2020) empowers educators to make fairy tales an even more exciting and effective tool—one that supports the cognitive, emotional, and social maturity of preschool-aged children.
References
I. Theory and Practice of Fairy Tales and Child Development
- Bettelheim, B. (1976). The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales.
- Zipes, J. (1999). When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition.
- Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1969). Psychology of the Child. New York: Basic Books.
- Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes.
- Bettelheim, B., & Zelan, K. (1982). On Learning to Read: The Child’s Fascination with Meaning.
II. Pedagogical Approaches to Working with Fairy Tales (Ages 3–7)
- Broström, S. (2017). Curriculum in Early Childhood Education. In Miller, L. et al. (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Policy. SAGE Publications.
- Marinak, B., & Gambrell, L. (2016). Essentials of Integrating the Language Arts. Routledge.
- Neshev, N. (2010). Methodology of Teaching Literature in Kindergarten. Sofia: Prosveta.
III. Artificial Intelligence and Its Application in Education
- Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2019). Artificial Intelligence in Education: Promises and Implications for Teaching and Learning.
- Zawacki-Richter, O. et al. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education – Are the technological tools making a difference? Computers & Education, 147.
- Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. Basic Books.
- Luckin, R. (2018). Machine Learning and Human Intelligence: The Future of Education for the 21st Century.
- Chen, L., Chen, P., & Lin, Z. (2020). Artificial Intelligence in Education: A Review. IEEE Access, 8, 75264–75278.
IV. Additional Online Resources and Platforms
- UNESCO – Guidance on AI and Education
- European Commission – Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI
