- Title
- Exploring children’s understandings of gender using critical literacy in a reading club
- Creator
- Jansen, Lincoln Lee
- Creator
- Surname, name
- Subject
- Book clubs (Discussion groups) -- South Africa
- Subject
- Literacy -- Study and teaching (Elementary)
- Subject
- Literacy -- Study and teaching (Middle school)
- Date Issued
- 2024-12
- Date
- 2024-12
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/68333
- Identifier
- vital:76976
- Description
- School literacy practices have always favoured traditional, gender stereotypical portrayals of characters in books. These portrayals are not troublesome as it helps children build a sense of identity. However, these portrayals often fail to represent people in more diverse ways and thus does not reflect how societies have progressed. These narrow portrayals are also often limiting and do not take into consideration people’s personal interests which can lead to them being ostracised and marginalised. The People’s Republic of China is the context for this study where traditional, conservative views are upheld about ways of being and doing for males and females. This is a qualitative study within the interpretivist paradigm which recognised the individual perceptions of participants within their specific sociocultural context. By establishing a reading club as a Third Space for literacy engagement, this study sought to explore how grade 2 learners at a school in Beijing, China responded to traditional and diverse portrayals of characters in books. This study regarded the establishment of a reading club as an empowering practice as it allowed a safe space for the participants to freely share their deliberations about ways of being in the world. Coupled with critical literacy as a practice, participants took a critical stance in instances of gender bias and injustices and in doing so, allowed them to accentuate their morality. Findings of this study suggest that the Chinese participants had very flexible ideas about ways of being and doing in the world as long as these did not conflict with their understandings of the law. Participants also upheld that gender performances and gendered behaviour are open to all with impunity. The findings of this study also highlight the importance of providing diverse literature to children as this helps them to deal with, and examine, issues they might not ordinarily encounter in a safe way and in doing so, expand their worldviews and cultivate empathy.
- Description
- Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, School of Primary Schooling, 2024
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (356 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Education
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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- Visitors: 3
- Downloads: 0
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NMU School for Initial Teacher Education
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | JANSEN, L. December 2024.pdf | 15 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |