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Identity of African American Characters in Newbery Medal and Newbery Honor Award Winning Books: a Critical Content Analysis of B

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Identity of African American Characters in Newbery Medal and Newbery Honor Award Winning Books: a Critical Content Analysis of B IDENTITY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CHARACTERS IN NEWBERY MEDAL AND NEWBERY HONOR AWARD WINNING BOOKS: A CRITICAL CONTENT ANALYSIS OF BOOKS FROM 1991 TO 2011 Tami Butler Morton, B.A., M.T. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2012 APPROVED: Janelle Mathis, Major Professor Elizabeth Figa, Minor Professor Carol Wickstrom, Committee Member Claudia Haag, Committee Member Nancy Nelson, Chair of the Department of Teacher Education and Administration Jerry Thomas, Dean of the College of Education Mark Wardell, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Morton, Tami Butler. Identity of African American Characters in Newbery Medal And Newbery Honor Award Winning Books: A Critical Content Analysis of Books from 1991 to 2011. Doctor of Philosophy (Reading), December 2012, 119 pp., 14 tables, 3 illustrations, references, 80 titles. The purpose of this study was to conduct a critical content analysis of the African American characters found in Newbery Medal award winning books recognized between the years of 1991 and 2011. The John Newbery Medal is a highly regarded award in the United States for children’s literature and esteemed worldwide. Children’s and adolescents’ books receive this coveted award for the quality of their writing. Though these books are recognized for their quality writing, there is no guideline in the award criteria that evaluated the race and identity of the characters. Hence, there are two overarching research questions that guided this study. The first question asked: To what extent are the African American characters in each award winning book represented? Foci in answering this question were the frequency of African American characters and the development of their ethnic identities. The second question asked: How are the African American characters’ intergroup attitudes and interactions represented? Foci in answering this question examined the frequency of intergroup interactions and the characters’ attitudes within the context of each book. The theoretical framework that undergirded this study is critical literacy, which encourages adults and youth to examine issues of diversity and social justice through their reading. Eighteen books met the criteria for the study, which provided 98 African American characters for investigation through content analysis. The qualitative methodology used frequency counts, anecdotal notes and questionnaires to analyze the characters. Findings revealed two key themes: the characterization of ethnic identity as a reflection of society and African American characters as models of agency. Further themes became evident in this study as well: the evolution of cultural authenticity, strong African American female characters, importance of the African American family and the acknowledgement of African American involvement in history. These findings are significant because they provided evidence of the potential of these Newbery award winning books to be the catalyst for critical classroom conversations on identity and agency. Findings also provided increasingly strong examples of ethnic role models within these notable titles. Copyright 2012 by Tami Butler Morton ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to express extreme gratitude for my dissertation chair, Dr. Janelle Mathis, for her knowledge and expertise, mentorship, and unwavering support. I am also very thankful for my other committee members, Dr. Elizabeth Figa, Dr. Carol Wickstrom, and Dr. Claudia Haag for your guidance and support. Thank you to Teresa for help during my data collection stage. Thank you to my doctoral student colleagues as well, for your insights and conversations. I dedicate this study to my family and friends. In particular, Mom and Dad, whose encouragement, support, and love strengthened my desire to succeed. Last, but certainly not least, I dedicate this to Tony, Chris, and Cameron. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and overall encouragement throughout this entire experience. I love you all. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................vi LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Background of the Problem .................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem ..................................................................................... 3 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................... 9 Theoretical Perspective ...................................................................................... 10 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................. 11 Limitations .......................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................. 14 Critical Literacy ................................................................................................... 14 African American Children’s and Adolescent Literature ...................................... 20 The Newbery Medal and Newbery Honor Awards .............................................. 25 Cultural Authenticity ............................................................................................ 27 Ethnic Identity ..................................................................................................... 29 Intergroup Interactions and Attitudes .................................................................. 33 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES ........................... 35 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 35 Books Examined ................................................................................................. 36 Content Analysis Procedures ............................................................................. 38 Cultural Authenticity Questionnaire .......................................................... 38 Research Question 1: To What Extent are the African American Characters in Each Award Winning Book Represented? ......................... 41 Research Question 2: How are the African American Characters’ Intergroup Attitudes and Interactions Represented? ................................ 45 CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 49 Research Question 1 .......................................................................................... 50 iv What is the Frequency of African American Characters? ........................ 50 How are the African American Characters’ Ethnic Identities Developed? 51 Research Question 2 .......................................................................................... 62 What is the Frequency of Intergroup Interactions with African American Characters? ............................................................................................. 63 Positive Interactions ................................................................................. 64 Negative Interactions ............................................................................... 75 Nonfiction Stories ..................................................................................... 76 What Attitudes are in Place or are Developed within the Context of the Book?....................................................................................................... 77 How Does a Character’s Intergroup Interactions and Attitudes Relate to the Character’s Ethnic Identity Development? ......................................... 83 Summary of Findings .......................................................................................... 85 Ethnic Identity .......................................................................................... 85 Intergroup Interactions and Attitudes ....................................................... 86 Effects of Ethnic Identity on Intergroup Interactions and Attitudes ........... 87 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS ............................... 88 Discussion of Research Questions ..................................................................... 89 Characterization of Ethnic Identity as Reflections of Society ................... 89 African American Characters as Models of Agency ................................. 92 Further Discussion .............................................................................................. 93 Evolution of Cultural Authenticity ............................................................. 93 Strong Female Characters ....................................................................... 97 Importance of Family ............................................................................... 99 African American Involvement in History Revealed ............................... 102 Implications....................................................................................................... 104 Implications for Teaching ......................................................................
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