Image of Refugees in Children's Literature: A Content Analysis

• In Event: 16.028 - Examining Identity to Enhance Learning Opportunities Among Resettled Refugee Youth

Abstract

The unprecedented refugee crisis (UNHCR, 2015) challenges schools in resettling countries to provide adequate support for refugee children (Sidhu, Taylor, & Christie, 2011). Children’s literature, as the intersection of language and ideology (Stephens, 1992), has potential to support refugee children’s identity development and their post-resettlement success. Botelho and Rudman (2009) metaphorically describe children’s literature as a mirror, a window, and a door, “The mirror invites self-contemplation and affirmation of identity. The window permits a view of other people’s lives. The door invites interaction” (p. 14). 
Although research extensively analyzed children’s literature for multicultural (e.g., Botelho & Rudman, 2009), race (e.g., Rogers & Christian, 2007), and gender (e.g., Sunderland, 2004) metanarratives, how refugees are represented in children’s literature has rarely been explored. To address this gap, we conducted a content analysis of children’s storybooks to answer this central question: How does children’s literature portray refugees?
First, we focused on storybooks that are recommended for children in early childhood (birth – 8 years old), and are published from 2000 to 2015 by 30 biggest children book publishers in English-language (e.g., Capstone Press, HarperCollins, Lee & Low, Scholastic). Within these parameters, we identified books that feature refugee children (explicitly mention the refugee status of the child). Second, for the books that feature refugee characters, we conducted a content analysis by adapting the Refugee Critical Race Theory framework (Strekalova & Nash, 2016) to identify common themes.
Our preliminary findings suggest that trauma and violence are prevalent themes in children’s books about refugees. For example, “The Color of Home” (Hoffman, 2002) describes how Hassan, a refugee first-grader in London, reveals his traumatic experience in Somalia through a school art project. He adds fire and bullets to a beautiful bright picture of his house and family in pre-conflict Somalia. Our presentation will offer a complete analysis of themes related to the image of refugee children, including their pre- and post-resettlement experiences, cultural representation, and the role of families, teachers, and peers in their new country.
The preliminary findings are consistent with the image of refugees in public discourse (Kisiara, 2015), media portrayal (Berry, Garcia-Blanco, & Moore, 2016), and storytelling research (Perry, 2008). The narrative of refugees as a traumatized, vulnerable, and suffering population interferes with their successful adjustment to life after resettlement (Kisiara, 2015). Trauma associated with refugee children clearly exists (Sirin & Rogers-Sirin, 2015) and needs to be addressed and supported. However, refugee experiences go beyond displacement and we need to present broad opportunities for refugee children to experience their own cultural heritage and post-resettlement life in children’s books. “Focusing on post-traumatic growth…will increase our understanding of individuals from refugee backgrounds as a group of people with lives that have potential beyond their previous experiences” (Fraine & McDade, 2009, p. 18).
Based on our preliminary findings, we recommend that teachers 1) critically use children’s literature on refugees in their classroom, and 2) rely on refugee students’ families and communities to share stories more representative of their cultures, histories, and experiences (counter-storytelling).

Authors

• Ekaterina Strekalova-Hughes, University of Missouri - Kansas City

• X. Christine Wang, University at Buffalo - SUNY