An Exploration of the Extent Contemporary Children’s Picture Books in Ireland Reflect the Perspective of Critical Multiculturalism.

Abstract

This documentary analysis examines picture books available in Ireland through the lens of critical multiculturalism. Since 2003 the scale of immigration into Ireland has foregrounded issues of cultural diversity (Parker-Jenkins, 2013). The multicultural classroom brings forth new challenges and considerations for primary schools, including the availability of multicultural literature. According to Hinton and Dickinson (2007) multicultural literature instills pride and a sense of self-empowerment in readers, additionally it can be utilised as a means of combating racism and other such prejudices, as it encourages and promotes empathy. Multicultural literature allows children to see themselves in the books they read and also to see the world through another’s eyes (Atkinson Smolen & A., 2011). Using the principles of grounded theory, open coding and axial coding were utilised to analyse a sample of 20 books from the Inis Reading Guide 2018. The extent to which the books were representative of a critical multicultural perspective was greatly varied. The findings highlighted that there were multidimensional representation of minority peoples and cultures presented in several books, and others portrayed these characters in a tokenistic manner. The research reveals how the children’s literature landscape in Ireland is changing and transforming. The findings highlight a movement towards a more inclusive environment, however, there remains a need for further subversive children’s literature to become more widespread. The literature coded was deemed to be the “very best” of children’s literature (Children's Books Ireland, 2018). Thus, it cannot be said to be representative of most children’s literature available. Instead, it highlights that even the high-quality literature still has strides to make towards a critical multicultural perspective.