The 5 love languages of children (Chapman; Campbell, 2017): are its two main principles academically valid for qualitative research and teacher training?

Abstract

This paper presents a qualitative analysis of seven quantitative academic studies on two main concepts from Gary Chapman's five love languages theory, the foundation of “The 5 love languages of children”. These studies were selected from a literature review conducted in 2021 through the State of Knowledge methodology. The texts were analyzed using the Discursive Textual Analysis technique. This article aims to show what has been studied on Chapman’s theory outside Brazil. Three of the studies confirmed the empirical validity of each of the five love languages as proposed in Chapman’s thesis. Additionally, two academic works empirically validated the primary love language hypothesis. Findings indicate both of Chapman’s claims as empirically valid concepts through quantitative research. Results suggest that these principles in the realm of childhood could be meaningful to qualitative research – on education and teacher training – to improve both teaching and learning processes.