INFLUENCE OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULE FOCUSED ON THE RESEARCH-BASED EVIDENCE OF THE CULTURE AND GENDER BIAS FOUND IN DISNEY ANIMATED FAIRY TALES ON PREPRIMARY EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS by Ruth A. Doran A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The College of Education in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida April 2009 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to express her sincere thanks for the support, attention, guidance, and assistance given by the distinguished members of her committee, Dr. Nancy Brown, Dr. Michael Budd, Dr. Patricia Maslin-Ostrowski, and most of all, to her Chair, Dr. Gail Burnaford, to whom she will always be indebted. ii ABSTRACT Author: Ruth A. Doran Title: Influence of a Professional Development Module Focused on the Research-Based Evidence of Culture and Gender Bias Found in Disney Animated Fairy Tale Media on Preprimary Early Childhood Teachers Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Gail E. Burnaford Degree: Doctor of Education Year: 2009 Disney commands a strong market presence worldwide in print and multimedia products used for early childhood entertainment. Yet, the gender and cultural bias found in Disney animated fairy tale media has been well documented. Although preprimary early childhood teachers are urged to maintain a multicultural environment that is free of bias and stereotypes, very little training or support is presented to guide preprimary early childhood teachers in the selection of materials for use in their preprimary early childhood classrooms. The study sought to investigate the influence of a professional development module focused on the gender and cultural bias found in Disney animated fairy tale iii media on preprimary early childhood teachers. How would they respond to this professional development module? Would it change their intentions to use Disney animated fairy tale media with preprimary early childhood children? Would the participation in this preprimary early childhood professional development module actually change their practice? Using both quantitative and qualitative inquiries, participating preprimary early education teachers reported mixed findings. While some preprimary early childhood teachers were clearly influenced by their discovery of the existence of bias in this media, others revealed a cognitive dissonance from a strong personal and emotional attachment to Disney animated fairy tale media products juxtaposed against the evidence of cultural and gender bias found in the media. Implications and suggestions for future research included the expansion of professional development modules and higher education/teacher education to include the study and consideration of the content of children‟s media. Policymakers and advocates need to address concerns of bias found in children‟s media with respect to gender and cultural bias development during the preoperative developmental stage of preprimary children. Further, interdisciplinary discussion needs to address the concern of the influence of media on the holistic development of young children. iv DEDICATION This manuscript is dedicated to my mother and late father, in fulfillment of a dream to honor them. I also dedicate this work to my niece Ashley, in the spirit to keep that dream alive. v INFLUENCE OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULE FOCUSED ON THE RESEARCH-BASED EVIDENCE OF THE CULTURE AND GENDER BIAS FOUND IN DISNEY ANIMATED FAIRY TALES ON PREPRIMARY EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS List of Tables………………………………………… ..................................................... x Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem…….. .................................................................................... 4 Research Questions……. .............................................................................................. 4 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................. 5 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 8 Limitations and Delimitations....................................................................................... 9 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................... 12 Organization of the Study ........................................................................................... 15 Review of the Literature. ................................................................................................. 16 Professional Development in Florida.......................................................................... 16 Child Development ..................................................................................................... 18 Identity Formation ..................................................................................................... 22 Fairy Tales in the Curriculum. .................................................................................... 23 Media Literacy ............................................................................................................ 28 vi United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child .............................................. 31 Anti-Bias Curriculum Standards ................................................................................. 32 On the Nature of Fairy Tales ...................................................................................... 37 On the Nature of Disney Animated Fairy Tale Media. ............................................... 39 On the Nature of Animation. ...................................................................................... 41 Professional Development ........................................................................................... 47 Methods............................................................................................................................ 51 Research Design.......................................................................................................... 51 Research Sites ............................................................................................................. 52 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 53 Participants .................................................................................................................. 53 Study Procedure. ......................................................................................................... 57 Instrumentation and Data Collection Procedure. ........................................................ 60 Data Analysis .............................................................................................................. 65 Results .............................................................................................................................. 66 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 66 Findings As Related to Research Questions ........................................................... 75 Survey Analyses...................................................................................................... 82 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 91 Summary of the Study ............................................................................................ 92 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 92 Research Question #1 ............................................................................................. 94 vii Research Question #2.. ........................................................................................... 99 Research Question #3. .......................................................................................... 101 Implications........................................................................................................... 103 Recommendations for Future Research ................................................................ 105 Appendixes. ................................................................................................................... 109 References. ..................................................................................................................... 155 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. A Florida County‟s Demographics: Population Totals and Ethnicity Breakdown ..................................................................................................... 10 Table 2. A Florida County‟s Demographics: Adult Gender and Age Distribution ..... 11 Table 3. A Florida County‟s Demographics: Number of Preprimary Children in Total Population ............................................................................................. 11 Table 4. A Southeast Florida County‟s Child Care Centers by Type .......................... 55 Table 5. Summary of Questions Asked of Preprimary Early Childhood Teachers During Focus Group Interviews..................................................................... 64 Table 6. Participant Demographics: Percent Represented by