Conference Program

Schools bear responsibility for fostering psychological competences—such as emotional regulation, empathy, and prosocial behaviour—essential for students' active participation in democratic life (Caprara et al., 2014). Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (2001) posits reciprocal interactions between cultural narratives and individual representations. 
This psychosocial study examines how dominant literary narratives correspond with anger representations among children and adolescents, across cultures. 


Using a mixed-method design, an analysis of 50 young books featuring anger themes (predominantly Italian/Western vs. Japanese) revealed distinct national “narrative templates”. Italian literature often reinforces individualistic conflict resolution (explosive or repressive), while Japanese texts emphasize relational containment to preserve community harmony. 
These patterns were validated against empirical data from 500 Italian students (ages 5-18) and a Japanese comparative sample. 


Findings reveal a strong alignment between literary canons and youth representations: Italian youth predominantly exhibit confrontational anger, mirroring Western narrative dominance and correlating with higher resentment accumulation and reduced prosocial orientation. Conversely, the Japanese model focuses on "relational anger," where emotional regulation is not merely an individual effort but a social responsibility. By prioritizing group cohesion over individual emotional discharge, this approach fosters a culture of mutual care. The relational framework becomes therefore a cornerstone of democratic schooling, as it transforms conflict into an opportunity for collective negotiation rather than social fragmentation.
Japanese youth's management of internalized and relational anger is consistent with their literary tradition, and this correspondence confirms the role of literature as an implicit emotional curriculum: contemporary literature functions primarily as a cultural crystallization, reproducing prevailing emotional norms and predetermining social imaginaries prior to formal education.
Experimental Evidence: An intervention exposing Italian children to Japanese narratives demonstrated a significant shift toward relational, prosocial imaginaries. This confirms literature’s dual function: crystallization of existing norms vs. transformation through divergent models. This dual function positions children's literature as a strategic psychosocial resource for democratic education.
By tracing the pathway from cultural narratives through youth representations to behavioural competences, these findings show how schools can leverage "outsider" literary traditions to counter domestically crystallized emotional fragilities. Japanese anger narratives offer Italian students cultural scaffolding for empathy and cooperation, strengthening psychological competences for inclusive school communities and active citizenship (OECD, 2021). The study calls for curriculum diversification beyond national canons to activate literature's transformative potential, preventing resentment sedimentation while cultivating a democratic emotional culture.
Conclusions: Western individualistic narratives risk cultivating fragile democratic skills, while Japanese relational models offer the cultural framework for inclusive citizenship. Cross-fertilization through literary exchange would be desirable. In line with the OECD Frameworks (2021), this study promotes the curricular integration of diverse literary traditions to strengthen emotional regulation as a foundation for active democratic participation, particularly within heterogeneous school communities.