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ERIC Number: EJ1401646
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1468-7984
EISSN: EISSN-1741-2919
Depictions of Teachers and Teacher Practices in Picture Books about Starting Kindergarten
Cutler, Laura; Slicker, Gerilyn
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, v23 n4 p695-724 2023
Educators and families frequently use children's picture books to introduce young children to unfamiliar experiences, including the start of school. In this study, we examine 52 U.S. picture books portraying the transition to kindergarten. Specifically, this content analysis explores the depiction of kindergarten teachers, including the demographic characteristics of these teachers, the extent to which these teacher characteristics mirror those of the kindergarteners in their classrooms, the ways teachers interact with kindergarteners, and the learning environments teachers create for entering kindergarteners. Results show that teachers are generally portrayed as abled and female, with White teachers depicted more frequently than teachers from any other racial or ethnic group. Our findings also indicate that many books about starting kindergarten do not depict a mix of racially diverse kindergarteners and teachers or teacher-student racial and ethnic match. Finally, we find that teachers are portrayed in narrow ways; characterized as classroom supervisors who have relatively limited engagement with children and who rarely inspire students in their intellectual pursuits. Overall results indicate a need for an expanded offering of books about starting kindergarten that are more representative of diverse kindergarten experiences, including both more teacher and student diversity as well as images of kindergarten teachers who are actively engaged in children's kindergarten transition.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2993
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A