An exploration of the potential of wordless picturebooks to encourage parent-child reading in the South African context

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research study focused on the influence of a participatory project in which wordless picturebooks were used in parent-child joint reading and, more generally, the developmentof a culture of reading in the home. The research was conducted within the South Africancontext, in low socio-economic areas of Gauteng, and is approached from the researcher'sviewpoint as an illustrator. Using multimodal social semiotics as a theoretical departure,the researcher argues that the characteristics of wordless picturebooks can serve asmotivating factors that could contribute to developing a more positive attitude to readingin South Africa.Internationally, there is a large volume of literature which advocates the use of wordless books in literacy development, yet little research exists on their use in the South African context. Furthermore, the majority of research investigating the value of book sharing hasbeen conducted in the developed world. South Africa has a very low general reading rate, and despite a growing support for literacy development in mother tongue, there still exists a lack of indigenous language picturebooks for very young children. Many families are also simply unable to afford books. As a result, many children are not exposed to books or booksharing activities prior to entering formal school, where the focus of reading is not on reading for enjoyment. By systematically moving the reading environment from a community center or pre-school to participant homes, the main aim of this research was to determine the perceptions of the parents /primary caregivers and children that participated in the research regarding the value of utilizing wordless picturebooks. Theresearcher aimed go gain an understanding of how wordless picturebooks could assist in ensuring that literacy poor families are supported as a child's first educator.The research was based on participative action research, and was conducted in three literacy poor areas of Gauteng. Qualitative data was collected by means of focus group and semi-structured individual interviews before and after participants attended a reading programme that spanned over a four to six-week period. Prior to the reading programme,a story collection workshop was hosted at two of the research sites, and the stories collected from the participants was used by the researcher to create wordless picturebooks. The use of these books were subsequently pilot tested at the third researchsite, whereas existing wordless picture books were used at the first two sites. An initial sample of 42 parents/primary caregivers and their pre-school child were included in the study, however low participant retention resulted in a significantly smaller sample thatcompleted the research with only 14 parents/primary caregivers having attended all the sessions of the reading programme. It should however be noted that even though the number of participants that completed the entire programme, in other words, whoattended all sessions, was low, data pertaining to the reading experience after the implementation of the programme was collected from 39 participants in total.Thematic analysis of the data was conducted, and themes that pertained to aspects of Design (as a central notion in Multiliteracies), Multimodality and participant generated content were identified. The key findings indicated that wordless picturebooks can beviewed as a valuable tool in fostering a culture of reading in the South African context.Participants reported that they were reading more at home, and that the activity was enjoyable, compared to previous reading experiences. Furthermore, the research findings highlighted factors that influence parent-child reading programmes within the context ofSouth African, literacy poor areas. It is recommended the genre warrants more local attention and that larger-scale research studies be conducted with more diverse populations.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University