그림책 등장인물의 성별에 대한 유아들의 인식

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to examine how children perceive the gender of human and non-human characters while reading picture books.
 Methods Children’s perception was observed through reading out two different picture books for 48 children of Y kindergarten and S kindergarten in S city, in a primary large-group session and secondary small-group session, then a repetitive and active verbal interaction afterward.
 Results Children displayed a tendency to perceive the gender of the human characters in picture books based on social constructs. Male children largely focused on references to conventions and social constructs, whereas female children focused on visual features such as reference to illustrations, colors, clothes, and physical attributes. In the case of non-human characters, social constructs and references to illustrations had an equivalent degree of influence on the perception of gender. Male children used references to conventions as evidence to perceive the characters’ gender, while female children used references to illustrations and clothes.
 Conclusions By understanding children’s perception of the gender of human and non-human characters in picture books, this study can contribute to composing a children’s literary education curriculum that pursues diversity to diminish gender stereotypes, and deepening meaningful literary interactions with children from the perspective of gender sensitivity.