Abstract
Despite the significant role of children's literature, little attention has been paid to how picture books depicting non-traditional gender roles can be incorporated in bilingual kindergarten classrooms as a medium to open discussions about gender roles. As part of a large-scale research project on multicultural education, this study investigated literary discussions about picture books depicting non-traditional gender roles to help young bilinguals challenge gender ideologies and gender stereotypes. Implementing a qualitative case study approach, the study focused on 16 five-year-old children of Mexican-origin at a charter school located in Texas. Findings suggest that the use of gender-themed picture books in a bilingual classroom can offer young bilingual children a multitude of opportunities to challenge dominant gender ideologies and develop critical perspectives on gender roles.
Highlights
Children begin to develop gender identities and gender meanings in their early years [1,2,3,4]
The current study investigated the intersection between discussions about gender and multicultural children’s literature in a dual language context
At the beginning of the semester, some children often revealed unfavorable feelings toward characters playing nontraditional gender roles, which could be related to the discrepancy between the gender roles represented in books and their own gender role expectations
Summary
Children begin to develop gender identities and gender meanings in their early years [1,2,3,4]. Zosuls et al [7] argue that children identify with a social category as young as 27-30 months or even younger. They start to understand gender as a basic component of self, and develop gendered self and gender-typed roles in their daily interactions with their community members [8]. In this process, they sometimes develop biased attitudes toward male and female roles. Children’s literature is an important cultural mechanism for teaching gender biases to children [11]
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