Harry Potter and the Quest for Values:
How the boy wizard can assist young people in making choices



Submitted by
Anthony Lennard,
B.A., Dip. Ed., Grad. Dip. RE St., Grad. Dip. Ed. Admin., M. Ed., M. Ed. Admin.


A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Education

School of Education
Faculty of Education

Australian Catholic University
Research Services
Locked Bag 4115,
Fitzroy, Victoria 3065
Australia

February, 2007

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STATEMENT OF SOURCES

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any
other tertiary institution.
This thesis contains no material extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I
have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.
To the best of my knowledge, this thesis contains no material previously published or
written except where due reference is made in the main text and references.
All research procedures reported in the thesis received the approval of the relevant
Ethics/Safety Committees (where required).


Signed:
Date: ______________________



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ABSTRACT

The Harry Potter series has been a phenomenal publishing success for their author J.
K. Rowling. This thesis argues for the use of these books as a worthwhile teaching asset,
especially in the promotion of values in our schools. It particularly focuses on the use of these
books for Values Education in the curriculum area of Religious Education.
While the world continues to change and evolve there are some aspects of our
societies that remain unchanged and the power of stories is one of these stable forces. This
thesis looks at the importance of stories in teaching our youth about values, especially
Christian values. It also provides research on how critics and youth have responded to the
stories about Harry Potter through undertaking a review of critical comments and by actually
asking young people what they feel about aspects of the novels.
Comment is made on what Christian values can be found in the Harry Potter series
and how they are shown through the choices characters make. This thesis also looks at how
the power to choose is a fundamental basis of Christian religion and that through our choices
we live out our humanity. Mention is made of Values Education in both State and Catholic
schools and how, in recent years, we have seen increased moves by both Federal and State
Governments to instigate Values Education programmes in Australian schools. This study
also looked at how curriculum changes in Tasmania, at both State and Catholic levels,
encourages the teaching of values through the use of resources that connect with our young
people and teaching strategies that encourage higher-order thinking skills.
An analysis is also made regarding the connection between the Harry Potter series
and the hero journey motif. This connection provides some answers as to why the series is so
popular and why our youth feel some connection to the characters in the books.
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Through research and analysis this thesis found that the Harry Potter series is popular
with our youth and that they are connected to the characters in the books and the choices they
make. This study also found that the series, through the characters and choices they make,
provides itself as a valuable teaching tool because it is able to be used in both secular and
Catholic schools regardless of attacks on the books by Christian groups. Studies undertaken
indicated that the values presented in the books are compatible with our Australian societal
values and that with the use of good teaching strategies the books can assist students in
developing their higher-order thinking skills.
The Harry Potter series can be used to assist youth in acquiring values that will assist
them in their personal development and to help them become useful contributors to our
modern world. Through the character of Harry Potter and his experiences students can learn
more about themselves and the values they need to overcome those difficulties that they, like
all of us, face in life.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


This thesis acknowledges the support and encouragement of all those I have come in
contact with during my years in Catholic Education in Tasmania. I particularly acknowledge
the support and assistance provided by Mr Tony Webb, Mrs Jill Morgan, Mr Craig Deayton
and Dr Dan White.

I also acknowledge the guidance provided by Associate Professor Margot Hillel OAM
and Dr Ken Smith. Without their advice and their understanding this thesis would not have
been completed.

This thesis is dedicated to my patient and understanding wife, Lee-Anne, my three
supportive children Dominic, Anna and Kristian and my parents, Jack and Doreen, who
brought me up to value education as a life-long pursuit.
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone:
PS
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:
CoS
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:
PoA
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:
GoF
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:
OoP
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince:
HBP
Good News for Living (Document/Framework):
GNFL
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………………………………...i
STATEMENT OF SOURCES………………………………………………………..…..ii
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………….……iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………….…v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS …………………………………………………………....vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………………..vii


CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: HARRY POTTER AND THE QUEST FOR
VALUES: HOW THE BOY WIZARD CAN ASSIST YOUNG PEOPLE IN
MAKING CHOICES ………………………………….……………………………….…1
Definitions ……………………………………………………………………….…3
Who is Harry Potter? ………………………………………………………….……5
Literary influences on Harry Potter ……………………………………………..…8
Children’s Literature and Harry Potter ……………………………………….…..10
About the title of this thesis…………………………………………………….….12
Stories and their importance ………………………………………………….…...13
Stories and values …………………………………………………………….…...16
Stories and Religious Education ………………………………………….……….21
Harry Potter series as retold stories …………………………………….………...23
Conclusion …………………………………………………….…………………..24

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ……………..………………………..26
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………….26
Theoretical framework …………………………………………………….……...26
Design of the study ……………………………………………………….……….27
Ethical considerations …………………………………………………….…….…32
Limitations of research ……………………………………………………….…...32
The study of literature…………………………………………………………......33
Literature Review ………………………………………………………………....34
1) Youth responses to the Harry Potter series ………….……………...….…35
2) Religious/spiritual debate/comment over the Harry Potter series………...37
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3) General guides about the Harry Potter series ………………………….....45
4) General literary criticism of the Harry Potter series ……………………...47
5) Academic publications critically examining the Harry Potter series …….50
6) Internet and Journal resources about the Harry Potter series …………….53
Summary of themes in Literature Review ………………………………………...55
Where do we place the Harry Potter series in literature? ………………………...58
Is the Harry Potter series suitable for use in a Christian school? ...……….……...61
The ideologies of J. K. Rowling ………………………………………………......62
Conclusion ………………………………………………………….………...…...65



CHAPTER 3: WHY VALUES? ………………………………………….……………..67

Introduction ………………………………………………….……………...…….67
The need for values ………………………………………………………......……67
How we develop values and what influences them……………………...………...68
Education and values …………………………………………………...………....70
Australian schools’ history of Values Education ………………………………....70
Approaches to teaching values …………………………………………………....73
Values Education in Tasmanian schools ………………………………………….75
Some concerns about the Harry Potter series ………………………………….....80
Conclusion …………………………………………………..………………...…..86


CHAPTER 4: CHOICE AND VALUES IN HARRY POTTER …...……………….....87
Introduction …………………………………………………….…………...…….87
Critics, youth, Harry Potter and values ………………………………………..…87
Choice …………………………………………………………………………….89
Human Freedom, Destiny, choice and the Fall Myth ………………………….…94
Other personal values in Harry Potter …………………………………….…….103
Conclusion
…………………………………………………………….…………129


CHAPTER 5: HARRY POTTER, “THE HERO JOURNEY” AND OUR YOUTH..131

Introduction ………………………………………………………………….…..131
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What is the “Hero Journey”? …………………………………………………….131

The “Hero Journey” and its relevance to our youth ……………………………..135
Harry Potter as a “Hero Journey” ……………………………………………….140

Harry Potter and the “Hero Journey” form ……………………………………...141
Conclusion
……………………………………………………………………….148

CHAPTER 6: USING HARRY POTTER ……………………………………………..150

Introduction ……………………………………………………...………………150

Harry Potter as a multi-dimensional teaching tool ……………………...………151

The literate learner ………………………………………………………....……152
Developing
higher-order
thinking skills to fully utilise Harry Potter ……….….154

Bloom’s taxonomy ………………………………………………………………155

Harry Potter and Bloom’s taxonomy ……………………………………….…..157

How Religious Education is taught in Tasmania ………………………………..160
Using
Harry Potter in a Religious Education Values Unit ……………………...166
Using
Harry Potter in a secular Values Education Unit ………………………...167
Conclusion
……………………………………………………………………….168


REFERENCES ……………………………………………………….………………...170

APPENDICES ………………………………………………………….……..………..197

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- 1 -
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION:
HARRY POTTER AND THE QUEST FOR VALUES:
HOW THE BOY WIZARD CAN ASSIST YOUNG PEOPLE IN MAKING CHOICES

“[Harry is] a virtuous agent whose commitments will inevitably lead to conflicts with
the evil that threatens his world”
(James Smith, 2005, ¶ 17)

Stories, like the Harry Potter series, have been part of humankind for thousands of
years and part of the classroom scene as long as schools have existed. They are multi-
dimensional teaching tools that can be used in various areas of education including the
teaching of literacy skills, belief systems and critical reflective skills. Stories are still used in
our classrooms each day whether through the written word, oral presentations, audio tapes,
CDs, video tapes or DVDs. How teachers use the stories depends on the curriculum
framework they follow and their own teaching techniques and belief systems.
The education system has a duty to teach its students values. As Maureen Carroll
(2004) states, “Education must support the development of well-rounded individuals who are
able to feel deeply with compassion for others, to think penetratingly and clearly and act
justly for humanity” (p. 2). Schools must not indoctrinate students into a particular value
system but provide the opportunity for students to gain a set of personal values. Through
teaching methods that allow students to be critically reflective of competing values, students
should be able to gain a set of values that are beneficial to both themselves and society.
This thesis argues that the Harry Potter books are useful resources for the teaching of
values in our schools because the series’ central character, Harry Potter, lives out values that
are generally regarded as worthwhile by contemporary Australian society. The popularity of

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