ERIC Number: EJ1240564
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Mar
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2161-2412
EISSN: N/A
A Portrait of Chinese Culture: Investigating Perceptions Presented in Children's Books
Giles, Rebecca M.; Martin, Susan F.; Paige, Vitulli
Multicultural Learning and Teaching, v15 n1 Mar 2020
Administrators, 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.
Descriptors: Asian Culture, Childrens Literature, Picture Books, Multicultural Education, Reading Material Selection, Young Children, Public Libraries, Library Materials, Fiction, Ethnic Stereotypes, Cultural Awareness, Evaluation Criteria, Accuracy, Ethnic Groups
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A