A Descriptive Study of How African Americans Are Portrayed in Award Winning African American Children's Picture Books from 1996-2005
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Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2006 A Descriptive Study of How African Americans are Portrayed in Award Winning African American Children's Picture Books From 1996-2005 Susie Robin Ussery Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td Recommended Citation Ussery, Susie Robin, "A Descriptive Study of How African Americans are Portrayed in Award Winning African American Children's Picture Books From 1996-2005" (2006). Theses and Dissertations. 106. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/106 This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF HOW AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE PORTRAYED IN AWARD WINNING AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS FROM 1996-2005 By Susie Robin Ussery A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Elementary Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction Mississippi State, Mississippi May 2006 Copyright by Susie Robin Ussery 2006 Name: Susie Robin Ussery Date of Degree: May 13, 2006 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Elementary Education Dissertation Director: Dr. Linda T. Coats Title of Study: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF HOW AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE PORTRAYED IN AWARD WINNING AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS FROM 1996-2005 Pages in Study: 109 Candidate for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Children learn about their world through books used in the classroom. Research about the portrayal of African Americans in children’s picture books is essential because picture books introduce some children to African American culture, and all children need to see characters like themselves in books. Since previous studies analyzed the characterizations of African Americans in children’s picture books from 1900 through 1995, the significance and purpose of this study were to add to the literature by examining children’s picture books from 1996 through 2005. The research questions were: (a) How are African Americans portrayed in the written texts of African American children’s picture books awarded the Coretta Scott King Award or distinguished as Caldecott Medal honor books or Coretta Scott King honor books from 1996 through 2005? (b) How are African Americans portrayed in the illustrations of African American children’s picture books awarded the Coretta Scott King Award or distinguished as Caldecott Medal honor books or Coretta Scott King honor books from 1996 through 2005? To be included in the sample of books, (a) each book had to be an African American children’s picture book, (b) all characters or the protagonist had to be African American, and (c) each book had to be an award-winning book, which had been awarded the distinguished Coretta Scott King Author or Illustrator Award or noted as Caldecott Medal or Coretta Scott King Award honor books during the years 1996 through 2005. The sample consisted of 28 books. The instrumentation consisted of nine evaluation criteria which were used as categories. The data yielded documentation used to conclude that African Americans were portrayed positively in most of the African American children’s picture books employed in the study that were awarded the Coretta Scott King Award or distinguished as Caldecott Medal or Coretta Scott King honor books from 1996 through 2005. DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my late parents, James Ira Ussery and Mary Inez Hall Ussery, who taught me how to dream, drilled in me the need for God and an education, and showed me how to persevere. I also dedicate it to my sister, Kizzie Dianne Ames Shelton, and my brothers, Franklin Cecil Ussery and Frank Cedric Ussery, who encouraged me throughout my pursuit of this degree and the writing process. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank God from Whom all blessings flow for not only helping me to make it through the process of writing this dissertation but for allowing my accomplishments in life to surpass even my wildest dreams. I thank my committee members, Dr. Linda T. Coats, Dr. Robin D. Groce, Dr. Nancy Verhoek-Miller, Dr. Debra Prince, and Dr. Anthony A. Olinzock for their willingness to serve on my committee. I especially would like to thank Dr. Coats for providing leadership and invaluable input throughout the writing process and Dr. Groce for helping to develop my topic and for her untiring encouragement. I also thank my colleagues at New Hope Elementary School, including “the lunch bunch,” and other employees in the Lowndes County School District for their encouragement and especially Lisa Garrett for conducting my audit trail during the research process. Thank you is not enough to express my gratitude to my pastor, Elder Steve Jamison, his wife, LoRen, and Evangelist Gloria Jamison. I appreciate my aunt, Johnnie Mae Brewer, who has mothered my siblings and me since her oldest sister, my mother, passed away. I also want to thank all of the people who have prayed for me and helped me along the way since that loss during my teen years. iii These acknowledgements would be incomplete without a tremendous thank you to my friends, Ms. Therolyn Gathings, Mrs. Wilma Peterson, Jackie Mitchell, Helen Kennard, ABD, Mrs. Patricia Prowell, Dr. Debra Carter, Dr. Ann Scott, Dr. Yolander Jones, Theresa Dumas, ABD, Mrs. Shirley Gibson, Mrs. Jewel Sherrod Edwards, and Yvette Fuller, J.D. You are the best! I also thank my mentor, Dr. King David Rush, for taking the time to listen and encourage me along the way. In case I left anyone out, I want to thank you as well. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ..................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 Significance of the Study .................................................................... 6 Purpose................................................................................................ 6 Research Questions ............................................................................. 7 Limitations .......................................................................................... 7 Definition of Terms............................................................................. 8 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ..................................................... 10 History of the Caldecott Medal ........................................................... 10 History of the Coretta Scott King Award............................................ 12 Teachers’ Use of African American Children’s Books in the Classroom...................................................................................... 14 Students’ Reactions to African American Children’s Picture Books............................................................................................. 15 Previous Research .............................................................................. 17 Chapter Summary............................................................................... 25 III. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................ 29 Research Design................................................................................. 29 Population .......................................................................................... 30 Instrumentation .................................................................................. 35 Procedure............................................................................................ 37 Data Analysis ..................................................................................... 38 Trustworthiness .................................................................................. 39 Chapter Summary............................................................................... 41 v CHAPTER Page IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................ 43 Review................................................................................................ 43 Results................................................................................................ 44 Discussion of Findings....................................................................... 46 Chapter Summary............................................................................... 57 V. SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...... 58 Summary ............................................................................................ 58 Implications........................................................................................ 62 Recommendations.............................................................................. 63 Recommendations Based on the Research Process ........................... 63 Chapter Summary............................................................................... 64 REFERENCES....................................................................................................