Abstract
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.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial Comment
- Multiculturalism Still Matters
- Research Articles
- Pre-Service Teachers’ Metaphors of Learning and Teaching English as a Second Language
- Cultural Awareness on A Bilingual Education: A Mixed Method Study
- Pre-Service Teachers’ Changing Perspectives of Mexican Immigration following an Online Multicultural Literature Experience
- A Portrait of Chinese Culture: Investigating Perceptions Presented in Children's Books
- Faith and Pedagogy: Intersections of Asian American Teachers’ Identities and Practice
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- Implementing ELF-informed Activities in an Elementary Level English Preparatory Classroom
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial Comment
- Multiculturalism Still Matters
- Research Articles
- Pre-Service Teachers’ Metaphors of Learning and Teaching English as a Second Language
- Cultural Awareness on A Bilingual Education: A Mixed Method Study
- Pre-Service Teachers’ Changing Perspectives of Mexican Immigration following an Online Multicultural Literature Experience
- A Portrait of Chinese Culture: Investigating Perceptions Presented in Children's Books
- Faith and Pedagogy: Intersections of Asian American Teachers’ Identities and Practice
- Living Together in a Diverse World: Conversations about the Stories of Two Mommies and Daddies among Mexican-descent Bilingual Kindergarteners
- Implementing ELF-informed Activities in an Elementary Level English Preparatory Classroom