The importance of children's periodicals as reading matter has long been recognised. Surveys have established that on average children read more periodicals than books.
Yet there is disappointingly little scholarship on children's periodicals. Due to their enormously high circulation, periodicals can be seen as one of the most powerful media for i8parting
knowledge, values and attitudes to children. For this reason it is important that high quality magazines should be published to adapt to the child's needs and interests. Attention is paid to the historic development of children's periodicals and the change in attitude to the nature and aims of a children's periodical. From this short historic survey, it appears that children's reading matter serves as a method of culture transfer, thus becoming part of the process of acculturation which develops a child into a functional part of society. The values and attitudes projected by children's literature are implicitly and explicitly part of a specific society. Although they cannot be strictly delineated, researches have proved that a child progresses through certain recognisable phases of development which in turn serve as guidelines for a child's reading interests at a certain age. The successful children's periodical identifies a specific target group and adapts its contents and presentation to the expected interests and needs according to age. In the evaluation of children's periodicals and the formulation of criteria by which they can be measured, children's periodicals are treated as a distinct form of publication with unique characteristics. The criteria which apply in the evaluation of books, do not apply and separate criteria for periodicals are formulated. Children's periodicals are discussed against the background of the struggle and development of the Afrikaans language. In the short history of the Afrikaans language, numerous children's periodicals were published. These are shown as having had quite superior qualities to those which are currently in existence. Have long been out of publication. Lost their identities. The greater majority others have completely it is feasible that definite knowledge of earlier Afrikaans publications could be contributively to all phases of the present-day situation, therefore some magazines from the nineteenth century and several fror.1 the tv7entieth century are discussed, as well as columns for children in adult periodicals. These columns paved the way for independent children's periodicals and although they did not really make a literary contribution, they played an important part in the education of the nation, being from the people for the people. The first autonomous children's periodicals, 1916-1936, were all committed to the language struggle and. were of a didactic nature, dedicated to the attitudes and values of the Afrikaans nation. In the period after 1936 quite a few periodicals were established. A few have survived, but the majority disappeared. The present-day situation of Afrikaans children's periodicals is discussed. The almost total lack of Afrikaans periodical literature for children reflects a world-wide decline in the popularity of general periodicals. The special interest periodical would seem to be the most characteristic form. Children today live in a visually dominated culture and periodicals must be very well planned to compete with radio, film and television. Only the very good periodical will hold the attention of the child. / DBibl, PU vir CHO, 1982
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/10244 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | Bester, M. (Magdalena) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | other |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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