ERIC Number: EJ1429687
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 32
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1536-3031
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Reading Classroom Stories That Reimagine Disability in Early Childhood Settings
Sara Ucar; Amber Friesen
Issues in Teacher Education, v33 n1 p80-111 2024
Children and adults are frequently engaging in shared reading activities and storytelling within early childhood settings. This includes children with varying abilities and intersecting identities learning in inclusive or special education settings. Researchers recognize the importance of representation in children's stories, and stories that reflect young readers, their families, and broader community (Bishop, 1990; Bishop, 2012; Oxley, 2006). However, minimal empirical evidence of disability representation in children's literature exists (Tondreau & Rabinowitz, 2021). Thus, this empirical study investigates favorite classroom picturebooks in active early childhood special education (ECSE) classrooms. The study aimed to gain insight about the frequency and quality of inclusive literature, by investigating disability representation in active ECSE classrooms. The research surveyed active ECSE teachers to generate a data corpus of 50 unique favorite classroom stories. Using qualitative semiotic analysis, the study analyzed the texts and visuals for elements of inclusion, to discern elements of inclusion within each story. Within the data corpus, 7 out of 50 favorite stories included disabled and non-disabled characters. This analysis highlighted the absence of disability within the data set, and variations between strong, some, and limited disability representation. The data suggests a need to increase young children's exposure to inclusive stories and strength-based representations of disability.
Descriptors: Reading, Picture Books, Early Childhood Education, Special Education, Students with Disabilities, Inclusion, Reading Material Selection, Childrens Literature, Disabilities, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Semiotics, Special Education Teachers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A