Material Green Entanglements: Research on Student Teachers’ Aesthetic and Ecocritical Engagement with Picturebooks of Their Own Choice

This study investigates the role of children’s literature, specifically picturebooks, in fostering aesthetic and ecocritical awareness within teacher education. Framed within the broader historical and pedagogical context of children’s literature, the article explores how contemporary picturebooks reflect evolving understandings of childhood, environmental ethics, and sustainability. By analyzing the outcomes of a course module offered as part of the Children’s Literature: History, Theory, and Reading Education program at the University of Padova, it highlights the pedagogical potential of picturebooks to address themes of ecological interdependence and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Methodologically, the research draws on video content analysis to examine students’ engagements with picturebooks, peers, and the environment. This approach underscores the entanglement of educational theory, material culture, and the transformative use of picturebooks as tools for critical reflection, environmental awareness, and participatory pedagogy in shaping future educators. The study situates these findings within the history of education and children’s literature, while emphasizing the interplay of historical, literary, artistic, and pedagogical dimensions of children’s literature and media in promoting a holistic and critical educational framework.