Beverley A. Brenna
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University of Alberta Characters with Disabilities in Contemporary Children‘s Novels: Portraits of Three Authors in a Frame of Canadian Texts by Beverley A. Brenna A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Elementary Education ©Beverley A. Brenna Spring, 2010 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. i Examining Committee Dr. Joyce Bainbridge, Elementary Education, University of Alberta Dr. Eliza Dresang, Information School, University of Washington Dr. Margaret Mackey, Secondary Education, University of Alberta Dr. Jill McClay, Elementary Education, University of Alberta Dr. Christina Rinaldi, Educational Psychology, University of Alberta Dr. Lynne Wiltse, Elementary Education, University of Alberta ii I dedicate this work to my wonderful husband Dwayne and our sons: Wilson, Eric, and Connor. Thank you for being my foundation. iii ABSTRACT This qualitative study explored influences on three Canadian authors who present characters with disabilities in children‘s fiction. Portraits of these authors are framed by a discussion of contemporary Canadian children‘s novels, offering curriculum ideas within the framework of critical literacy. The research questions were: What patterns in the depictions of characters with disabilities appear in the context of Canadian novels, published since 1995, for children and young adults? What motivates and informs selected contemporary children‘s authors‘ construction of fictional characters with disabilities? Portraiture was used as a variation on case study research. Methods for data collection and analysis included semi-structured interviews, personal narratives, and content analysis regarding three author portraits, including a self- portrait; content analysis was also applied to fifty children‘s novels. Bakhtin‘s conceptualization of the literary chronotope was utilized as a lens to explore aspects of time and space ‗internal‘ and ‗external‘ to these texts, and further delineated by aspects of time, social context, and place—three categories borrowed from the field of narrative inquiry. Research on classic fiction illuminates particular patterns and trends regarding authors‘ portrayals of characters with disabilities. This dissertation has identified and explored contemporary trends. While disability figured in all of the iv children‘s novels in the study sample, ethnicity was strikingly absent, as were books for junior readers ages eight to eleven. The inquiry utilized Dresang‘s Radical Change theory to identify the landscape on which books about characters with disabilities reside, supporting the metaphorical conceptualization of the radical changes in children‘s literature as a ‗rhizome‘. The resonance of what has informed authors, in addition to the exploration of the children‘s books in this study, offers perspectives that impact critical literacy classroom approaches delineated within Lewison, Flint, and Van Sluys‘ four dimensions framework: disrupting the commonplace, interrogating multiple viewpoints, focusing on socio-political issues, and taking action and promoting social justice. The latter dimension, while not accomplished through reading the texts themselves, may be approached through attention to author influences. The implications of the study relate to curriculum development as well as promote further research in Education, English Literature, and Disability Studies. An annotated bibliography is included. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express deep gratitude to the many people who have walked with me during the conception and completion of this study: my supervisor, Dr. Joyce Bainbridge, for her generous spirit and academic wisdom; the members of my supervisory committee, Dr. Jill McClay and Dr. Christina Rinaldi, for their keen interest in this project, and their supportive feedback; the members of my examining committee, Dr. Margaret Mackey and Dr. Lynne Wiltse, for their thought-provoking questions and sage advice; Dr. Ingrid Johnston, for strong support in preparation for my candidacy; and my external examiner, Dr. Eliza Dresang, whose work I have found very inspirational; the two authors who gave so freely of their time and consideration as participants in this study: Rachna Gilmore and Pamela Porter; peers and teachers in the Department of Elementary Education at the University of Alberta; students and families who provided much fuel for this study; colleagues in Saskatoon Public Schools—Starfish Team, you rock!; friends and colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan; Dr. Linda Wason-Ellam, for starting me on this journey years ago; Dr. Christtine Fondse, for her steadfast guidance; Jean Little, for inspiring conversations; my parents, whose storytelling instilled an interest in teaching; special thanks to my mother whose seminal stories appear here in relation to my self-study; my mother-in-law who supported this endeavour through many gracious words and deeds, and other family members, especially Joyce, Jack, and Beth, who offered continuous encouragement; Karen and Dave for the timely loan of their Edmonton house; my children, Wilson, Eric, and Connor, for their willingness to try new family configurations and residences during my PhD candidacy; my husband, Dwayne, for his endless patience, love and support. vi CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION................................................................1 Research Questions and Methodology..............................................................3 Need for the Study...........................................................................................5 The Evolution of ‗Disability‘.........................................................................5 Reviews of The Child That Books Built.........................................................6 The Power of Stories....................................................................................10 Theoretical Framework: Disability as a Social Construction..........................14 Study Design: Qualitative Research.............................................................18 Language and Terminology.............................................................................20 Definition of ‗Social Justice‘........................................................................20 Definition of ‗Disability‘..............................................................................21 Ableist Language..........................................................................................23 Universal Design for Learning......................................................................24 Other Terms and Conventions......................................................................25 CHAPTER TWO: RELATED LITERATURE..................................................27 Critical Literacy................................................................................................27 Recent Studies on Critical Literacy Approaches...........................................33 Summary and Implications of Critical Literacy............................................36 History of Depictions of Fictional Characters with Special Needs..................37 Research on Disability in Contemporary Literature.........................................42 Radical Change Theory………………..............................………….......…....47 Teacher Agency, Performativity, and Null Curriculum Related to Marginalized Populations..............................................................................52 The Chronotope as a Lens Through Which to Explore Texts and the Influences on Authors of Texts…………………………………………….55 Summary............................................................................................................60 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH LANDSCAPE..............................................61 Pilot Study: Rachna Gilmore..............................................................................64 Background to the Pilot: Conversations with Jean Little................................64 Conversations with Rachna.............................................................................67 Initial Exploration of Children‘s Books.............................................................69 Research Design.................................................................................................72 Research Questions.........................................................................................72 Research Methods...........................................................................................74 Portraiture.....................................................................................................78 vii Self-Portraiture.............................................................................................81 Annotated Bibliography...............................................................................83