"They Are So Poor": Korean Kindergartners Discussions About Poverty and Inequality During Interactive Read-Alouds

• In Event: 32.083 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 32.083-9 - Social Class and Experiences With Schooling

Abstract

This interdisciplinary study explores the intersections of poverty, equality, and early literacy instruction by examining Korean kindergarteners’ discussions about poverty and economic inequality during read-alouds. As part of a larger qualitative study, the current study focused on five-year-old Korean children’s reading of picture books that dealt with poverty and equality issues in a metropolitan city in South Korea. The data were collected for four months through multiple sources including audio/video recordings, open-ended interviews, children’s artifacts, and observational field notes. The finding suggests the potential of literature discussions about poverty and human equality in early childhood classrooms as medium to help young children to develop their emergent understandings about social justice.

Authors

• So Jung Kim, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Soyeon Park, San Francisco State University