Following a growing concern among education stakeholders about the lack of a reading culture and low literacy levels among Rwandans in general and university students in particular, the aim of this thesis is to increase the awareness of Rwandans about the development of a reading culture and early literacy. To achieve this aim, four studies with participants representing different experiences related to reading culture were performed. These qualitative studies draw on different perspectives on the development of a reading culture and emergent literacy by using open-ended questionnaires and interviews. The thesis takes sociocultural and emergent literacy theories as points of departure. The first study investigates students’ reflections on their previous reading experiences, and discuss ways to develop literacy and a reading culture in Rwanda. The next one sheds light on parents’ involvement in literacy practices at home and the third study concerns what literacy knowledge teachers expect from their pupils when they start nursery and lower primary school. An example of a literacy event (storytelling) is given in the fourth study where children’s narratives of fairy tales are followed by their discussions on gender issues, which in turn can develop the children’s interest in reading. This can also help them relate texts to their life and teach them to think critically. In sum, the studies show that there is a limited reading culture in Rwanda. That is attributed to the colonial and post-colonial education system, reliance on verbal communication, limited access to reading materials, and ultimately the low status of the mother tongue Kinyarwanda within the sociolinguistic configuration of Rwanda. Also, the participating students and teachers point out the necessity of involving parents more in the creation of an environment that nurtures children’s emergent literacy development so that it becomes a shared responsibility translated into a teacherparent partnership for children’s success at school. Hence, the findings inform the use of this thesis which is to promote literacy and a reading culture in Rwanda by engaging the whole nation in a national effort to build a sustainable culture of reading. To paraphrase the old African saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, I want to conclude by saying that it takes a nation to develop a culture of reading.

This study is conducted from qualitative research with interviews as a basis, where I have interviewed four teachers from elementary school’s early ages (year 1-3). The aim is to highlight the teacher’s perspectives and experiences of reading aloud, and how they connect the activity to gender. The questions at issue that have been answered in this paper are how the teacher’s reflect to gender and reading aloud in a school environment; do the teacher’s reflect over the gender perspective when choosing reading aloud literature? When reading aloud, which attributes are important to highlight for girls and boys according to the teachers? Which books do the teachers consider "good" gender literature? The paper is based on the theoretical grounds of social constructivism, gender as construction, gender conscious pedagogy and reading aloud. In previous research the focal point has been Kåreland’s study on gender in literature in pre-school, and on how children are being portrayed in children’s literature today, from a gender perspective. The teacher’s that have been interviewed in this study all agreed on the fact that reading aloud is a very important part of education and are used by most teachers on a daily basis. The teacher’s apply the gender perspective on the choices of reading aloud literature to some extent. Another aspect, such as which theme the class is focusing on at the moment, often precedes the gender aspect. The teacher’s were unanimous that there are attributes that should be highlighted for both boys and girls in the classes, and that this can be done through literature. Attributes the teachers believe boys need to develop are, vulnerability, care and emotions, while the girls need to get a chance to develop courage and strength.

This study examined male and female characters in award-winning English language Canadian children's literature for evidence of gender equality. The sample consisted of seventy-eight books that had been winners or runners-up of national awards between 1982 and 1992. Qualitative and quantitative methods of content analysis were used to collect data from which the ratio of male characters to female characters was calculated for the titles, cover illustrations, text, illustrations in the body of the books, and main and supporting characters. A list of eighteen activities, categorized as active/mobile or passive/immobile, was used to identify the activities engaged in by the main and supporting characters. A list of four locations was used to determine the location of each activity. Careers/occupations were listed for all characters. Results indicated more references to females than males in the titles of the books, and an equal number of males and females portrayed on the cover illustrations. However, results from the text and the illustrations in the body of the books revealed twice as many male characters as females. There was a higher ratio of male to female main and supporting characters as well. Results of data collected on activities/locations indicated that female main and supporting characters dominated the passive/immobile activities. Active/mobile activities were dominated by female main characters and male supporting characters. Females dominated the home and outdoors locations, while males dominated place of business and school locations. Male characters performed a greater diversity of careers/occupations than did female characters, and were involved in 66% of the total number of careers/occupations. Findings of this study support the trend toward a reduction in gender bias found in earlier studies. However, the overall results suggest some gender biases in the representation and portrayal of male and female characters.

Syftet med denna studie är att utifrån ett didaktiskt perspektiv undersöka budskap om teknik i ett urval svenska skönlitterära barnböcker samt undersöka hur berättelsernas tekniksyner förhåller sig till deras natur- respektive framtidssyn. Analyserna grundar sig på sex svenska författares skönlitterära barnböcker: Selma Lagerlöf, Otto Witt, Elsa Beskow, Karl-Aage Schwartzkopf, Sven Wernström och Sven Nordqvist. Dessa böcker innehåller frågeställningar och problematiker som i dag anses betydelsefulla och relevanta inom teknikens didaktik. Studien har tre analytiska perspektiv: att identifiera tekniken som finns representerad i barnböckerna, att undersöka barnböckernas tekniksyner i förhållande till natur och framtid samt att finna gemensamma och särskiljande teman berättelserna emellan. Analyserna visar att de olika tekniksynerna i barnböckerna är mångfacetterade. Hur tekniken gestaltas kan delas in i sex övergripande teman: tekniken som metafor eller liknelse, som antropomorf, som autonom, som resultat av kreativ drivkraft, männens teknik samt som icke tidsbunden. Det förekommer också olika syn på teknik och dess inverkan på såväl individ som samhälle. Natursynen som dominerar kan beskrivas som svagt antropocentrisk och en majoritet av berättelserna förmedlar bilden av det effektiva framtidssamhället där tekniken löser människans problem. En slutsats är att barnlitteraturens tekniklandskap kan bidra till att både vidga och fördjupa det teknikdidaktiska perspektivet. Det ambivalenta budskapet i böckerna gör att teknikens mångskiftande natur lyfts fram samt problematiseras på ett sätt som läroböcker sällan gör. Skönlitterära barnböcker skulle därför kunna fungera som utgångspunkter för didaktiska diskussioner om teknikens natur samt dess inverkan på människa, samhälle och natur i såväl nutid som dåtid. / The aim of this study is to examine, from a didactic perspective, messages conveyed about technology (view of technology) in a selection of Swedish children’s books containing elements of technology education, and to explore how these views of technology relate to nature and futures perspectives. The analysis is based on children’s books by six Swedish authors: Selma Lagerlöf, Otto Witt, Elsa Beskow, Karl-Aage Schwartzkopf, Sven Wernström and Sven Nordqvist. These books contain depictions of technology, but also depict issues and problems relevant in the field of technology education. The study has three analytical perspectives: the identification of technologies represented in the books; interpretation of the views of technology transmitted in the stories in relation to nature and futures perspectives; and identification of shared and divergent themes in the stories. The analysis shows that in general, the books present technology in diverse ways. Various facets of technology appear in the material and these are categorized into six themes: technology as metaphor or analogy; as anthropomorphic; as autonomous; technology as a result of a creative driving force; masculine technology; and technology as enduring. There are also different views of technology and its impact on individuals as well as society. The dominant view of nature in the books is weak anthropocentric and a majority of the stories convey the image of an effective future society in which technology solves human problems. A conclusion is that the technology landscapes in children’s fiction could contribute to broadening technology education. The ambivalent messages in these books reveal technology’s multifaceted nature and its complexity. The messages in children’s literature could also make it possible to problematize the nature of technology in ways that  textbooks seldom can. Children’s fiction could thereby be jumping boards for creative discussions about the nature of technology, and technology’s effects on individuals, society and nature in past and present time. / <p><strong>The published thesis is the second edition.</strong> <em>Minor changes has been made in the second edition such as correcting grammatical errors, correcting a footnote, missing letters and two missing references.</em></p>

The aim of this study is to investigate how 20 children discusses norm breaking based on a children’s book with a focus on following questions: How do the children discuss norms based on the children’s book? Are there differences in opinions and comments between children with Swedish as their first language and children with Swedish as a second language, and if so, which ones? The investigation is based on four discussions of children’s literature, which are a method Chambers (2004) means enable the children to put their thoughts and feelings about the book into words. The theoretical frame of the study is founded on post-structuralism feminism and particularly Butler (Ambjörnsson, 2010) and Davies (2003) theories about gender and gender roles. The investigation shows, among other things, that the children are basing their discussions on the norms accepted by the society. But it also shows that there are differences in the way that the children with Swedish as a first language and Swedish as a second language discusses norm breaking.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att utifrån ett genusperspektiv visa hur pojkar och flickor beskrivs i bilderböcker för barn. För att få syn på detta har karaktärernas grad av aktivitet i handlande situationer analyserats. För att vidare fördjupa resonemanget och problematisera könsstereotyper så har ett feministiskt poststrukturalistiskt perspektiv använts som har applicerats på hur bokens karaktärer presenteras.   Metoden som använts är feministisk poststrukturalistisk textanalys där fokus legat på texternas samverkan med bilderna. Elva böcker har analyserats med hjälp av Maria Nikolajevas teorier rörande barnlitteratur och Hillevi Lenz Taguchis forskning om feministisk poststrukturalism.   Resultatet visar att även om teman och historier vid första anblick verkar vara könsneutrala så visar en noggrannare analys att mer dolda könsroller förekommer. Slutsatsen i detta arbete är att vissa könsroller ligger så djupt rotade i vårt samhälle att de kan vara svåra att se. Böckerna som barn kommer i kontakt med i sin vardag är väldigt viktiga när det handlar om hur de lär sig se på genusfrågor och därför är det viktigt att vuxna har en djupare förståelse kring hur de pratar om sådana frågor.   Aspekter på kön och genus är med det feministiska poststrukturalistiska synsättet något som ligger mer eller mindre dolt i hur människor förhåller sig till varandra. Strukturer och handlingsmönster tas för givna och risken finns att de återupprepas och normaliseras om man inte närmare studerar dem. Med en textanalys som den som gjorts i denna text kan man kritiskt granska företeelser som förekommer i böckerna. Genom att se på hur och varför saker presenteras som de gör kan man lättare få diskussionen till ytan. / The purpose of this thesis is to study how boys and girls are described regarding actions in children’s literature through a gender perspective, in order to observe whether the characters are passive or active when it comes to actions. To further deepen the reasoning and to problematize gender stereotypes a feministic poststructuralistic perspective has been applied to observe how the characters are being presented.   The method being used is a feministic poststructuralistic text analysis where focus has been on how text cooperates with pictures. Eleven books has been analyzed based on Maria Nikolajeva’s theories on children’s literature and Hillevi Lenz Taguchi’s research on feministic poststructuralism   The result shows that even though themes and stories seems to be gender neutral at first glance a deeper analysis shows that hidden gender roles are present. The conclusion in this thesis is that some gender roles are so deeply rooted in our society that they might be hard to perceive. Books that children come in contact with during a day are very important when it comes to how they learn about gender issues and therefor it is important that adults have a deeper understanding on how to talk about such issues.   Aspects on sexuality and gender are with the feministic poststructuralistic point of view something that lies more or less hidden when it comes to how people interact. Structures and action patterns are being taken for granted and there is therefore a risk that they are being repeated and normalized if not being studied. With a text analysis such as the one being done in this thesis one can critically study phenomena being present in books. By studying how and why things are presented the way they are one can easier move the discussion to the surface.

The purpose of this study is to examine how four educators in two different departments at two different preschools in Stockholm, selects children's literature in preschool and how literature is used in the activities and how much influence children have in the choice of literature. Based on qualitative interviews as a method we have interviewed pedagogues to get answers to our questions. We will also interview some children to find out how involved they are in the purchase of literature on the departments we examined. We consider the social cultural perspective to be a well rounded starting point for our survey, because the theory gives us the opportunity to study how the interaction and meetings between educators and children develop for each reading encounter. And through the analysis a thorough display between educators and children towards literature will be shown. The study show that the educators are aware of the importance that literature entails for children´s language development. Therefore, it is a thoughful approach to how educators preselect the usage of literature in its operation. All educators have the purpose to increase the childrens influence in purchasing litterature in the teaching activities, in hopes of increasing the children’s interest in books and therefore increase children's language development.

This thesis centers on three children’s novel, “Sex gånger Lucas”, “Min Vän målaren”, and “Den gula väskan”, written by the very appreciated and much awarded Brazilian Author Lygia Bojunga. All three of these novels discuss masculinity in young boys and men. In “Sex gånger Lucas”, the centerpiece of this thesis, the essential conflict in the novel is played out in the interchange between Lucas and his authoritarian father. The father, throughout the text, showcases toxic masculinity and its concurrent traits, such as verbal abuse and serial infidelity. This tyrannical parenting attempts to mold Lucas’ personality to what is deemed in the culture as acceptable masculine behavior. Lucas narrative journey finds him firstly internalizing this belief system, but, as the novel progresses, Lucas learns to accept himself, in all his gendered guises, and reject the father's binary opinions. “Min vän målaren” follows the tale of the sensitive young boy, Claudio, who struggles against an environment that doesn’t support him, in his many and varied attempts towards personhood. In “Den gula väskan” the protagonist Rakel confronts an open and oppressive sexism in society, community and the many dismissals of the family. “Den gula väskan” utilizes, at many junctures of the narrative, a fable structure as a means to discuss political oppression as well as the oppressive binary masculine norms. This Fable sub-tale focuses on the character Alfonso, a talking rooster. Alfonso rejects the expectations put on him as a rooster, but his cousin Skräcken is not as fortunate. The cousin, who it is heavily implied is the victim of masculine brainwashing, is unable to stop himself from fighting, even when it ends up killing him. Throughout these three novels lies an illustration of the downfalls of an oppressive and toxic masculinity (that men must be stoic, aggressive and in control) as well as highlighting the freedom for a more fluid gender expression. Lucas, Claudio and Alfonso give subversive, alternative depictions of masculinity, where it is acceptable to feel, be vulnerable, reject violence, and have healthy relationships built on companionship. This thesis explores how Bojunga's novels, through her characters struggles and triumphs, give the young male identified readers alternative ways to be a man. In other words, these novels liberate the male gender from a binary performance. / Denna avhandling bygger på tre barnromaner, "Sex Times Lucas", "Min Vän målaren" och "Den gula väskan", skriven av den uppskattade och prisbelönta brasilianska författaren Lygia Bojunga. Alla tre av dessa romaner diskuterar maskulinitet I relation till unga pojkar och män. I "Sex Times Lucas", den centrala verket i denna avhandling, är konflikten mellan Lucas och hans auktoritära far det centrala handlingen. Faderns beteende genom hela romanen skildrar en obehaglig uppfatning av maskulinitet, med att psykisk misshandla Lucas and vara ständigt otrogen mot modern. Genom hans tyranniska föräldraskap försöker han att forma Lucas’ personlighet till vad han anser acceptabelt maskulint beteende. Lucas först internaliserar dessa normer, men sen genom romanens växling lär Lucas att acceptera sig själv som han är och avvisar faderns översträngda idéer om manlighet. "Min vän målaren" visar en känslig ung pojke, Claudio, som kämpar mot en miljö som inte stöder honom. Trots detta motstånd försöker han inte förändra sig själv. I "Den gula väskan" diskuterar Rakel öppet sexismen som hon möter. Boken använder också fabel som ett medel för att diskutera politisk förtryck samt strängda genus normer genom Alfonso, en talande tupp. Alfonso går emot vad man förväntar av honom som tupp, men hans kusin Skräcken däremot går med på förväntningarna. Kusinen, som det är starkt underförstått, är offer för hjärntvätt, kan inte stoppa sig från att slåss, och tillslut dör på frund av det. I alla dessa tre romaner ligger en gestaltning av en kritik mot manlighetsnormer (att män får inte visa känslor, vara aggressiva och dominanta) samt framhävda friheten för ett mer flytande könsuttryck. Lucas, Claudio och Alfonso ger subversiva, alternativa skildringar av maskulinitet, där det är acceptabelt att känna, vara sårbar, avvisa sig från våld och ha jämställda relationer byggt på vänskap. Denna avhandling forskar i hur romanen, genom att skildra dessa karaktärer och deras kamp och seger, ger de unga pojk-identifieranda läsare alternativa sätt att vara en man. Med andra ord befriar dessa romaner det manliga könet från en binära normer.

Esta dissertação possui como temática a literatura infantil que circula na escola, especialmente, analisando edições populares adaptadas de contos de fadas. Dentre as coleções encontradas nos acervos investigados em duas escolas municipais – educação infantil e ensino fundamental - de um município da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre/RS, destacou-se a presença de determinadas séries com publicações de textos adaptados muito sucintos e com pouco cuidado editorial, preferencialmente, de “contos de fadas”, ao lado dos acervos oficiais distribuídos às escolas pelo Ministério de Educação (PNBE, PNLD, PNAIC). A partir desta constatação, meu objetivo, nesta dissertação, foi o de analisar criticamente adaptações de textos considerados “clássicos da literatura infantil”, encontrados nas escolas, realizando um cotejo com os "originais" [ou versões mais conhecidas], identificando as modificações e verificando, de maneira geral, os critérios que presidiram suas modificações. Considerando que estas coleções integram o circuito pedagógico nas instituições, realizei uma análise das adaptações de dez clássicos: “O Patinho Feio”, “João e o Pé de Feijão”, “Branca de Neve”, “A Bela e a Fera”, “A Bela Adormecida”, “Cinderela”, “Chapeuzinho Vermelho”, “João e Maria”, “Os Três Porquinhos” e “O Pequeno Polegar”, tomando como referência alguns estudos sobre contos de fadas e sobre adaptação (CADEMARTORI, CECCANTINI, HUTCHEON, CARVALHO, SHAVIT, entre outros). A análise das edições adaptadas, considerando tanto o projeto gráfico dos livros quanto as permanências e modificações dos textos, em relação às obras mais tradicionais, nos permitiu evidenciar o limitado potencial literário destas obras, uma vez que não privilegiam a riqueza das narrativas originais, tampouco sustentam a recepção destas histórias pelo leitor. Tornou-se evidente que a publicação de adaptações constitui uma estratégia do mercado editorial para o largo consumo de livros que possam “ensinar algo” para as crianças. Neste sentido, a investigação é produtiva, à medida que coloca em xeque o conceito de “literatura infantil” ou “livros para crianças” no circuito escolar. / This paper focuses on children’s literature in the school, particularly analysing popular issues of fairytales. Among works found in collections investigated in two municipal children’s and primary schools in the city of Porto Alegre (RS), the presence of particular series published from very brief and poorly edited texts, especially, about ‘fairytales’, as well as official collections the Ministry of Education (PNBE, PNLD, PNAIC) distributed to schools. Thus my aim was to analyse critically adaptations of texts considered as ‘children’s literature classics’ found in schools, by comparing them with ‘originals’ (or more popular versions), identifying changes and generally verifying criteria for such changes. Considering that these collections follow pedagogical paths in institutions, I make an analysis of adaptations from ten classics: The Ugly Duckling, Jack and the Beanstalk, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, The Three Little Pigs, and Tom Thumb. Here we have drawn to some studies about fairytales and adaptations such as Cademartori, Ceccantini, Hutcheon, Carvalho, Shavit, among others. Analysing these adapted works, by considering both books’ graphic part and attachment or change of traditional, allow us to show that these works have limited literary potential, once they do not favour the richness of the original narratives nor sustain the readers’ reception of these stories, which shows that publication of adaptations constitutes a strategy of the publishing market for the large consumption of books that may ‘teach something’ for children. In this perspective, the investigation is useful as it challenges the concept of ‘children’s literature’ or ‘children’s books’.

A pesquisa apresentada nessa Dissertação de Mestrado investiga de que forma um trabalho com literatura infantil com temáticas afro-brasileiras pode qualificar, discutir e problematizar os conceitos de diferenças raciais entre crianças de uma turma de Educação Infantil em escola pública municipal. Através da perspectiva com uma inspiração pós-estruturalista e da metodologia de pesquisas com crianças, em que concebo que elas são parceiras de pesquisa, trato de investigar as concepções de raça entre alunos dessa turma, a partir do ponto de vista de cada criança, na interação com os materiais propostos para a pesquisa, principalmente os livros de literatura infantil com personagens negros. Discuto como esses materiais podem evidenciar/reforçar/alterar a posição das crianças frente aos seus modos de viver a racialidade. Busca-se, através da literatura infantil com temática afrobrasileira, proporcionar outras formas de ver-se enquanto branco, negro, mestiço, mulato, etc., refletindo também sobre as histórias familiares sobre o tema e as relações que as crianças estabelecem entre pares. Sabemos que as infâncias são múltiplas e assim também são as formas como as crianças se veem e veem seus colegas e as discussões sobre essas formas de ver a si e ao outro entendo como fundamentais na constituição das identidades infantis. / This paper investigates how a work of children’s literature with African Brazilian themes may qualify, discuss and problematise concepts of racial differences among kids in a Children’s Education class in a municipal school. In a poststructuralist perspective and research methodology with children who in my opinion are research partners, we investigate conceptions of race among this classroom students from each child’s viewpoint in interaction with materials proposed for the research, particularly children’s literature books with Black characters. We discuss how these materials may emphasise/reinforce/change children’s position towards their way of dealing with raciality. Through children’s literature of African Brazilian themes, we seek to provide other ways of identifying white, Black, Mestizo, Mulatto people, also reflecting on family stories about the subject and relationships children have among them. We know that there are multiple childhoods and so are ways in which children see themselves and their peers and discussions about ways of seeing themselves and others as a key way to shape children’s identities.