YOUNG CHILDREN’S IDEAS ABOUT POVERTY: GENDER, RACE, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND SETTING DIFFERENCES

Abstract

What are children’s responses to storybook characters portrayed as socioeconomically disadvantaged? Do these responses vary by gender, race, socioeconomic status, and setting? Sixty-two 8-year-old-children individually listened and responded to a story about a soup kitchen using two different communication systems: drawings and words. Categories generated from the data were analyzed using chi-square analyses, yielding statistically significant findings for each of the variables of interest. Results offer a unique, detailed picture of the conceptual schemas of 8-year-old children about poverty.

Citation

Chafel, J.A. and Neitzel, C. (2004), "YOUNG CHILDREN’S IDEAS ABOUT POVERTY: GENDER, RACE, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND SETTING DIFFERENCES", Reifel, S. and Brown, M. (Ed.) Social Contexts of Early Education, and Reconceptualizing Play (II) (Advances in Early Education and Day Care, Vol. 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0270-4021(04)13001-2