Children’s self concepts are important constructions of their experience in childhood. Following Ernst von Glasersfeld’s approach, self concepts are personal organisations of self-other experiences. Heroes reflect what the child has chosen as important and so offer insight into how the child has selected values in her culture. Digital culture is becoming increasingly global and accessible. It is important to see how participation in the European Union (EU) global economic culture is changing young people’s self-images. Representations of heroic figures in questionnaires given to Irish (n = 239) and Slovenian (n = 389) samples of 15-year-olds were examined to assess the extent to which heroes originated in film and television, and whether the heroic figures were local or global personalities. The degree to which age and gender influence choice of hero was examined within the Irish sample, which also included 10-year-olds (n = 316). There is strong evidence that heroes in this sample were largely learned about on film and television, since family or community heroes were a minority (Ireland 23%, Slovenia 17%). Children chose male heroes more often than female heroes, though a child’s sex was associated with sex of hero chosen. Family, sport and musical heroes were more important in Ireland than Slovenia, and audio-visual heroes were more important in Slovenia. In the digital age the sequence for acquisition of hero type reported in the pre-television era – proximal (family and community) to distal (beyond the neighbourhood) – seems to have disappeared. Relevance: People’s heroes play an important role in their identity. Cultural differences are reflected in the choices made by this sample of young Irish and Slovene participants.

Key words: Heroes, school age sample, heroic domains, youth culture, identity

Heroic images are presented here as constructed possible selves which may play an important role in self development. A questionnaire was given to 510 Irish and 190 U.S. third and fourth grade children in a study designed to investigate (1) their conceptions of the heroic and (2) the effects of a classroom intervention on the Irish children’s choices of heroes and heroines. The educational program was constructivist and designed to challenge children to reconsider their ideas about heroic figures and to engage in discussion designed to promote prosocial attitudes in concrete ways. While national origin and gender strongly influenced children’s heroic images, there were strong factor structure similarities in U.S. and Irish samples. “The good” was the first factor, the fifth an antiheroic factor, and the others reflected figures from film, television and sport. In addition, gender differences in the choice of proximal and distal heroic figures were identified. Prosocial effects due to the intervention program were encouraging and discussed within the context of Irish educational objectives. Relevance: Heroes play an important role in identity. This study shows both national differences between Irish and US primary/elementary age children, and also shows how a classroom intervention can influence heroic figures chosen.

Key words: Heroes, school age sample, heroic domains, youth culture, identity, classroom intervention