Depictions of teachers and teacher practices in picture books about starting kindergarten

Abstract

Educators and families frequently use children’s picture books to introduce young children to unfamiliar experiences, including the start of school. In this study, we examine 52 U.S. picture books portraying the transition to kindergarten. Specifically, this content analysis explores the depiction of kindergarten teachers, including the demographic characteristics of these teachers, the extent to which these teacher characteristics mirror those of the kindergarteners in their classrooms, the ways teachers interact with kindergarteners, and the learning environments teachers create for entering kindergarteners. Results show that teachers are generally portrayed as abled and female, with White teachers depicted more frequently than teachers from any other racial or ethnic group. Our findings also indicate that many books about starting kindergarten do not depict a mix of racially diverse kindergarteners and teachers or teacher-student racial and ethnic match. Finally, we find that teachers are portrayed in narrow ways; characterized as classroom supervisors who have relatively limited engagement with children and who rarely inspire students in their intellectual pursuits. Overall results indicate a need for an expanded offering of books about starting kindergarten that are more representative of diverse kindergarten experiences, including both more teacher and student diversity as well as images of kindergarten teachers who are actively engaged in children’s kindergarten transition.

Analysis of the strategies for shaping and enhancing the professional ethics of preschool teachers

“…Since as a member of the teaching staff, caring and loving, taking children as the main body, standing in the perspective of children to think about problems, putting children first, always paying attention to children's hearts and physiological changes, encouraging children to boldly express themselves in collective activities, being good at communicating with peers and teachers in polite words, cultivating his self-confidence and establishing interpersonal relationships, so that she can be more calm in the environment. The courage to overcome difficulties [3] .…”

Pages of potential: an action research study of the affordances and constraints of using picture books as tools to deepen adult senses of identity and belonging

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