(De)Constructing Social Narratives of Gender: A Cross-Grade Analysis of Children’s Gendered Meaning-Making During Read-Alouds

• In Event: Pushing the Boundaries of Gender Equity Research

Abstract

In the discussion of diverse books (Dávila, 2015), a growing area of interest is in the representation of gender and sexuality within children’s literature. Much of this work, however, has focused on the texts’ representations, with less attention paid to how child readers engage in making sense of depictions of gender. The research presented here aims to address this gap by working to mine the potential that picture books have to help support comprehension of gender equity at a young age. The work focuses on both understanding children's notions of gender and how read aloud can disrupt normative assumptions.

Authors

• Katrina Bartow Jacobs, University of Pittsburgh

• Thomas M. Hill, Lewis-Clark State College