Asian American Children's Literature: A Qualitative Study of Cultural Authenticity

AbstractAdministrators, librarians, parents, teachers, and teacher educators need to be familiar with quality multicultural children's literature as a means of helping children develop an understanding of others as well as affirming their own diverse backgrounds. In this study, 31 fictional picture books identified as containing representations of ethnic Chinese or their culture were examined for literary quality and cultural authenticity. Six reviewers (three Chinese and 3 American) independently evaluated each book using a revised 10-item version of the Multicultural Children's Literature Evaluation Tool (Higgins, J. J. (2002). Multicultural children's literature: creating and applying an evaluation tool in response to the needs of urban educators. New Horizons in Education. Retrieved from http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/strategies/topics/multicultural-education/multicultural-childrens-literature/index.html) with the highest possible score being 30. Results indicated good interrater reliability with the mean score of the Chinese and American reviewers differing by less than 5 points for 24 books (80 %). Three books received a mean score of 30 by at least one group of reviewers, and three books received a mean score of below 19 by at least one group of reviewers. With results of studies such as this one at their disposal, adults are better prepared to select quality, culturally authentic literature to share with children.

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Gender-Labeling of Children’s Books and Reading Preferences as Represented through the KidLitosphere

International Journal of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education ◽

10.14434/ijlcle.v5i0.26927 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 4-21

Author(s):

Emily Seitz

Keyword(s):

Children's Literature ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Children’S Literature ◽

Children's Books ◽

Children’S Books ◽

Female Protagonists ◽

Books And Reading

This article discusses a qualitative study conducted as part of a dissertation on gendered literacy. The findings are based on sampling and analysis of data drawn from 23 blogs that are part of the KidLitosphere, a website aggregating blogs dealing with children’s literature. It discusses the primary findings relating to the genderlabeling of children’s books, including 1) bloggers’ and commenters’ direct labeling of books as “girl”‐ and “boy”‐preferred; 2) educators’ expectations of boys’ reading preferences; 3) bloggers’ and commenters’ consistently mentioning certain books and/or series, coded “iconic boy books,” in reference to boys’ reading; and, 4) educators’ expectation that boys prefer male protagonists and girls prefer female protagonists. It also discusses resistance to these themes in the form of 1) bloggers’ and commenters’ speaking directly against the labeling of books as “girl”‐ and “boy”‐preferred; 2) bloggers’ and commenters’ expressing the belief that a child’s sex should not influence the child’s reading preferences; and, 3) educators’ not expecting girls to prefer what are perceived to be “girl”‐preferred texts, or boys to prefer “boy”‐preferred texts.

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Asian American Children’s Literature

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.013.790 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Park Dahlen

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Children's Literature ◽

20Th Century ◽

Asian Americans ◽

Asian American ◽

Children’S Literature ◽

The United States ◽

Japanese Americans ◽

Children's Book ◽

Asian Diaspora

Asian American children’s literature includes books of many different genres that depict some aspect of the Asian diaspora. In total, the books should depict the breadth and depth of Asian diasporic experiences. Children’s books published in the early 20th century include mostly folktales, while books published after the 1965 Immigration Act tend to include contemporary fiction, poetry, and biographies. They address topics such as immigration and acculturation as well as capture landmark moments and experiences in Asian American history, such as the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and the transnational, transracial adoption of Asian children to the United States. Books published at the turn of the 20th century have broached newer topics, such as mixed-race identities, and are written in a variety of genres including fantasy. As noted by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, the number of books by and/or about Asian Americans published is disproportionate to the total number of books published each year and to the population of Asians in the Americas. Also some Asian American writers continue to publish on topics unrelated to their identities. Academic researchers, practitioners, and writers have addressed various aspects of how this body of literature represents Asian Americans, mostly noting distortions and erasure and offering suggestions for improvement, emerging topics, and engagement with young people.

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La formación de los futuros maestros a través de la literatura: los textos literarios desde una perspectiva didáctico-práctica

Investigaciones Sobre Lectura ◽

10.37132/isl.v0i4.67 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 93-106

Author(s):

María Victoria Guadamillas Gómez

Keyword(s):

Children's Literature ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Children’S Literature ◽

Educational Levels ◽

First Semester ◽

La Mancha ◽

Elective Course ◽

Faculty Of Education ◽

Infant Education ◽

Futuros Maestros

Este artículo pretende reflexionar sobre la formación literaria que reciben los futuros maestros, concretamente, en literatura infantil. Con este objetivo, se presenta el estudio cualitativo llevado a cabo a través de la experiencia didáctica realizada con los estudiantes de Educación Infantil de la Facultad de Educación de Toledo de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha y a través de la cual se pretendió efectuar una introducción a la literatura infantil en lengua inglesa con base didáctica en el contexto de la materia optativa Literatura Infantil en Lengua Inglesa y su Didáctica. En primer lugar, se describen algunos beneficios derivados de la inclusión de la literatura infantil y de su utilización en las primeras etapas educativas, revisando para ello algunas aportaciones teóricas relevantes. Posteriormente, se argumenta sobre la necesidad de formación en literatura infantil que presentan los futuros maestros para el provecho desempeño de su ocupación, así como para la transmisión literaria en el aula de niveles educativos iniciales. En tercer lugar, la presente contribución describe en detalle el enfoque didáctico adoptado con los maestros en formación, atendiendo a los objetivos, contenidos, resultados del aprendizaje que se pretenden alcanzar y sistema de evaluación propuesto. Una vez referido el diseño de la investigación, así como el contexto y los participantes, se exponen los resultados del cuestionario que realizaron los estudiantes después de haber completado su formación y realizado las actividades descritas. Por último, y a la luz de estos resultados, este artículo reflexiona sobre la opinión y grado de satisfacción observados en el estudio cualitativo y mostrado por los estudiantes participantes después de la puesta en práctica de esta propuesta de carácter teórico-práctico en el primer cuatrimestre del curso académico 2015-2016. The aim of this contribution is to reflect on literature training provided to future teachers, particularly, Children’s Literature. To this end, a qualitative study has been conducted by means of a didactic experience undertaken at the Faculty of Education in Toledo with the students of the Degree in Infant Education Teaching at University of Castilla-La Mancha. Through this didactic experience, students were assumed to gain knowledge of the main contributions to Children’s Literature in the context of the elective course Children’s Literature in English and its Didactics. Firstly, some advantages of the inclusion of Children’s Literature and its possibilities at early educational levels are revised through some of the most relevant authors on the field. Secondly, this paper pays attention to the necessity of including Children’s Literature in Infant Education Studies, giving its importance in early educational levels. Thirdly, this article shows the approach followed in the course as well as its main objectives, contents, learning outcomes and assessment criteria implemented. Once the main aspects of the study such as the design, methodology and participants have been described, this paper focuses on the analysis of the results obtained in the qualitative study conducted. Finally, this article considers the participants’ opinion and satisfaction rate obtained from the results of the study at the end of the didactic intervention carried out in the first semester of the Academic Year 2015-2016.

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La formación de los futuros maestros a través de la literatura: los textos literarios desde una perspectiva didáctico-práctica

Investigaciones Sobre Lectura ◽

10.24310/revistaisl.vi4.10970 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 93-106

Author(s):

María Victoria Guadamillas Gómez

Keyword(s):

Children's Literature ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Children’S Literature ◽

Educational Levels ◽

First Semester ◽

La Mancha ◽

Elective Course ◽

Faculty Of Education ◽

Infant Education ◽

Futuros Maestros

Este artículo pretende reflexionar sobre la formación literaria que reciben los futuros maestros, concretamente, en literatura infantil. Con este objetivo, se presenta el estudio cualitativo llevado a cabo a través de la experiencia didáctica realizada con los estudiantes de Educación Infantil de la Facultad de Educación de Toledo de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha y a través de la cual se pretendió efectuar una introducción a la literatura infantil en lengua inglesa con base didáctica en el contexto de la materia optativa Literatura Infantil en Lengua Inglesa y su Didáctica. En primer lugar, se describen algunos beneficios derivados de la inclusión de la literatura infantil y de su utilización en las primeras etapas educativas, revisando para ello algunas aportaciones teóricas relevantes. Posteriormente, se argumenta sobre la necesidad de formación en literatura infantil que presentan los futuros maestros para el provecho desempeño de su ocupación, así como para la transmisión literaria en el aula de niveles educativos iniciales. En tercer lugar, la presente contribución describe en detalle el enfoque didáctico adoptado con los maestros en formación, atendiendo a los objetivos, contenidos, resultados del aprendizaje que se pretenden alcanzar y sistema de evaluación propuesto. Una vez referido el diseño de la investigación, así como el contexto y los participantes, se exponen los resultados del cuestionario que realizaron los estudiantes después de haber completado su formación y realizado las actividades descritas. Por último, y a la luz de estos resultados, este artículo reflexiona sobre la opinión y grado de satisfacción observados en el estudio cualitativo y mostrado por los estudiantes participantes después de la puesta en práctica de esta propuesta de carácter teórico-práctico en el primer cuatrimestre del curso académico 2015-2016. The aim of this contribution is to reflect on literature training provided to future teachers, particularly, Children’s Literature. To this end, a qualitative study has been conducted by means of a didactic experience undertaken at the Faculty of Education in Toledo with the students of the Degree in Infant Education Teaching at University of Castilla-La Mancha. Through this didactic experience, students were assumed to gain knowledge of the main contributions to Children’s Literature in the context of the elective course Children’s Literature in English and its Didactics. Firstly, some advantages of the inclusion of Children’s Literature and its possibilities at early educational levels are revised through some of the most relevant authors on the field. Secondly, this paper pays attention to the necessity of including Children’s Literature in Infant Education Studies, giving its importance in early educational levels. Thirdly, this article shows the approach followed in the course as well as its main objectives, contents, learning outcomes and assessment criteria implemented. Once the main aspects of the study such as the design, methodology and participants have been described, this paper focuses on the analysis of the results obtained in the qualitative study conducted. Finally, this article considers the participants’ opinion and satisfaction rate obtained from the results of the study at the end of the didactic intervention carried out in the first semester of the Academic Year 2015-2016.

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