IDEOLOGICAL TRANSACTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ DIALOGS WITH INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PICTUREBOOKS by OKSANA LUSHCHEVSKA (Under the Direction of Jennifer M. Graff) ABSTRACT Literacy scholars assert that an introduction to diversity and global perspective using literature is most effective at the elementary level (Lehman, Freeman, & Scharer, 2010; Schultz; 2010; Stan, 1999) and well-trained teachers can teach multicultural literature and international literature to all students with the same success and expectations despite their own different background/race/gender (Schultz, 2010, p. 18). However, a number of factors influence K-12 educators’ selection of children’s books for classroom use (Serafini, 2013). This study focuses primarily on what happens when in-service elementary school teachers transact with selected international children’s picturebooks. By focusing on how and why teachers vacillate between aesthetic reception and resistance (Rosenblatt, 1978; Soter, 1997) when reading international children’s literature, we can better understand ways by which we can match readers (teachers and students) with international children’s literature. Additionally, we can better understand the ideological underpinnings of elementary school teachers’ transactions with the selected international children’s picturebooks. INDEX WORDS: international children’s literature, elementary school teachers, transactional theory, heteroglossia IDEOLOGICAL TRANSACTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ DIALOOGS WITH INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PICTUREBOOKS by OKSANA LUSHCHEVSKA B.A., The Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, Ukraine, 2004 M.A., The Pennsylvania State University, 2012 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2016 © 2016 Oksana Lushchevska All Rights Reserved IDEOLOGICAL TRANSACTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ DIALOOGS WITH INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PICTUREBOOKS by OKSANA LUSHCHEVSKA Major Professor: Jennifer M. Graff Committee: Bob Fecho Denise Davila Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my biggest gratitude to my major professor and supportive advisor, Dr. Jennifer M. Graff, who led me through my PhD journey with sincere encouragement and trust; to my committee Dr. Robert Fecho and Denise Davila, who challenged, influenced and guided me to my best in this journey. Thank you for your countless time and believing support. I am grateful to my colleague Michelle Robinnette, an elementary school teacher, who generously invited me to her classroom to read aloud international picturebooks to her students and to learn a lot from our fruitful discussions. This reminded me of my deepest childhood interests in international children’s books and encouraged me to move into my dissertation topic. I am thankful to all those teachers that agreed to participate in my study and showed me the most fruitful collaborative process. Their desire to bring the best examples of children’s literature in the classrooms is unmeasurable and inspiring. I would also like to thank Stephanie Maria Short, who always read my manuscripts thoroughly with great willingness and energized me on my way. I also thank my family and friends, who always cheered me up and reminded me about my true self. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................4 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................9 References ..............................................................................................................11 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................15 Picturebooks as a Distinct Area of Children’s Literature ......................................16 “Global,” “International,” and “Translated” Children’s Literature .......................19 Global Children’s Literature ............................................................................20 International Children’s Literature ..................................................................21 Translated Children’s Literature ......................................................................22 International Children’s Literature Since WWII: Background and Context ........23 Theoretical and Empirical Studies in International Children’s Books ..................26 Ideologies ...............................................................................................................29 Ideologies and Children’s Literature ...............................................................31 Ideologies and International Children’s Literature ..........................................33 Elementary School Teachers’ Book Selections for Classroom Use ......................35 v Curriculum and Common Core State Standards ..............................................36 Aesthetic and Cultural Connections.................................................................37 Roadmap to Understanding..............................................................................39 References ..............................................................................................................40 3 VISUALIZING RECEPTIVITY AND RESISTANCE: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ RESPONSES TO INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PICTUREBOOKS .......................................................................................................50 Abstract ..................................................................................................................51 Introduction ............................................................................................................51 Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................53 Literature Review...................................................................................................56 Picturebooks as a Complex Art Object ..........................................................58 In-service Teachers’ Book Selections for Classroom Use and Responses to International Children’s Literature ..................................................................59 Methodology ..........................................................................................................60 The Teachers ....................................................................................................61 The International Picturebooks ........................................................................62 Data Sources and Collection Procedures .........................................................63 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................65 Findings..................................................................................................................67 Visual Aesthetics of International Children’s Picturebooks ............................69 Verbal Aesthetics of International Children’s Picturebooks ...........................72 vi Efferent Reading as a Method for Screening International Children’s Books for Classroom Use............................................................................................74 International Books as Extended Personal and Social Storytellers .................75 Discussion ..............................................................................................................78 Moving Forward ....................................................................................................81 References ..............................................................................................................82 List of Tables .........................................................................................................86 4 OPENING SPACES FOR “OTHER POSSIBLE ” IDEOLOGIES: IDEOLOGICAL TRANSACTIONS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS WITH INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PICTUREBOOKS .............................................94 Abstract ..................................................................................................................95 Introduction ............................................................................................................95 Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................98 Ideologies in Children’s Literature ......................................................................101 Ideological Landscapes and Diversity .........................................................102 Ideology of Diverse Children’s Literature .....................................................103 The Synergy of Picturebooks ...............................................................................104 U.S. Elementary School Teachers’ Book Selections for Classroom Use ............105