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The reality of print literature resources in a representative sample of urban child care centres

University of British Columbia

This thesis is a qualitative study of six full day childcare centres. The purpose of this study was to identify the print literature resources that are present within a representative sample of urban childcare centres. Data were collected using field notes and manager interviews. A further analysis of the resources present allowed to the researcher to evaluate the quality of the resources and to discern whether the early childhood educators sampled have the resources to provide the foundation for a quality literature program. The books were analysed using five elements, including; literary merit, age and accuracy, physical condition, genre and developmental appropriateness, and quantity and accessibility. A total of 2774 resources were present in the six childcare centres. Overall the centres did not satisfy the elements for quality resources. Only 1% of the resources were found to have been judged worthy of recognition through nomination or award. The average age of the resources was 16 years, with an age span of 102 years, causing concern for accuracy, especially for information literature. The physical condition of the print literature resources did conform to quality guidelines, and it was discovered that physical condition was the only reason for discarding a book. There were a variety of genres present within the childcare centres, with the largest genre being information books. The second largest genre was surprising, as TV/Toy books represented 19.5% of the total collections. None of the centres met International Reading Association guidelines for quantity or accessibility for classroom libraries. It was clear that quantity and cost were the most important factors influencing the print literature collections in these childcare centres.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-12-02

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/16199

Children's Literature

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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