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Children Need to See Themselves in Their Reading Material: Parental Perspectives on the Importance of Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Reading Material

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Title: Children Need to See Themselves in Their Reading Material: Parental Perspectives on the Importance of Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Reading Material
Language: English
Authors: Mary A. Scorer, Emma J. Vardy (ORCID 0000-0002-7825-2270)
Source: Literacy. 2025 59(2):207-218.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 12
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Reading Materials, Parent Attitudes, Children, Cultural Pluralism, Ethnic Diversity, Self Concept, Racial Identification, Cultural Awareness, Ethnic Stereotypes, Reading Material Selection, Parent Role, Whites, Minority Groups, Tokenism, Foreign Countries
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
DOI: 10.1111/lit.12379
ISSN: 1741-4350
1741-4369
Abstract: To support children's engagement with reading material, it is important children are represented in reading material provided. As Parents are the curators of their child's reading diet, in this study the parental perspectives of the ethnic diversity of available reading material for their children was explored. Eight parents were interviewed individually online to explore their perceptions of diversity in their children's reading books. Interview scripts were analysed taking a reflexive thematic analysis approach. There was a commonality across all parents in that children's literature needed to represent the multicultural society their child lived in, but the emotional and personal content in this message differed between parents. To explain the data two themes of identify formation and ethnic diversity limitations of reading material are discussed. Identity formation encapsulated the parents focus on children needing to see themselves in reading material to learn about themselves and their culture. Therefore, it is important to avoid stereotyping which is the second theme. All parents noted the need for more diversity broadly in children's reading material, from publishers but also availability of diverse reading material from educational settings.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1470628
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0185030877;0lo01may.25;2025May12.02:21;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0185030877-1">Children need to see themselves in their reading material: parental perspectives on the importance of ethnically and culturally diverse reading material </title> <p>To support children's engagement with reading material, it is important children are represented in reading material provided. As Parents are the curators of their child's reading diet, in this study the parental perspectives of the ethnic diversity of available reading material for their children was explored. Eight parents were interviewed individually online to explore their perceptions of diversity in their children's reading books. Interview scripts were analysed taking a reflexive thematic analysis approach. There was a commonality across all parents in that children's literature needed to represent the multicultural society their child lived in, but the emotional and personal content in this message differed between parents. To explain the data two themes of identify formation and ethnic diversity limitations of reading material are discussed. Identity formation encapsulated the parents focus on children needing to see themselves in reading material to learn about themselves and their culture. Therefore, it is important to avoid stereotyping which is the second theme. All parents noted the need for more diversity broadly in children's reading material, from publishers but also availability of diverse reading material from educational settings.</p> <p>Keywords: everyday literacy lives; reading for pleasure; primary school aged children; parental involvement in education; thematic analysis; identity formation</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-2">Introduction</hd> <p>The books children engage with shape their knowledge and understanding of the world they live in. Bishop ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref1">8</reflink>]) summarised that books are mirrors of ourselves, windows to other worlds and sliding doors to enable us to be part of those worlds (Enriquez, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref2">31</reflink>]). This idea has underpinned the importance of children needing access to a diverse range of literature. Yet despite the importance of children seeing themselves in the literature they access, it is still the case there is limited diversity in children's literature and what there is, it can often present inaccurate representations of people and cultures (Westby, [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref3">76</reflink>]). To date, research has focused on understanding the prevalence of the issue and considered how to address this in the classroom by working with teachers. This is only part of a child's life, and thus there are gaps in our knowledge on the importance of diverse reading material. Parents are the curators of their child's reading diet; therefore, this study took a novel approach to explore from a parental perspective the ethnic diversity of reading material available for their children. In this paper we focused on ethnic diversity, using the term Global Majority to define 'people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual‐heritage, indigenous to the global south, and/or have been racialised as "ethnic minorities" ', since this term has been identified as more inclusive, decolonising language around ethnicity (Campbell‐Stephens, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref4">17</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-3">Access to diverse reading material</hd> <p>From surveying the current literature landscape available to children in the United Kingdom, the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref5">21</reflink>]) reported that only 1% of children's books had a Global majority main protagonist and only 4% included Global Majority background characters. Therefore, in the United Kingdom, there are large discrepancies between the Global Majority student population compared to characters in books, as 33% of school students are Global Majority, whereas 4% of children's books had a Global Majority main character (CLPE, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref6">21</reflink>]). Ethnic diversity of main characters is increasing with publishers such as Knight Of in the UK publishing literature for underrepresented groups. However, the prominence of a White main character remains, and this is not just an issue within the United Kingdom.</p> <p>In the United States, the Cooperative Children's Book Center (Huyck and Dahlen, [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref7">42</reflink>]) reported 50% (1555 books) of the 3716 surveyed had a White main character compared to 11.9% Black/African or 8.7% % Asian/Asian America main character; this has increased from a previous survey in 2015 where 73.3% of main characters were White (Huyck and Dahlen, [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref8">42</reflink>]). We need to ensure that this trend continues, and the content of children's books moves away from being largely White, male, middle/upper class, heterosexual, non‐disabled and English speaking (Crisp et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref9">25</reflink>]). Going back to Bishop ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref10">8</reflink>]) the current landscape gives children a small window to the world they are in, limiting the chance to foster global connections (Westby, [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref11">76</reflink>]). In providing children with high quality ethnically diverse books, it creates culturally responsive classrooms which have shown to reduce stereotypes and racial misconceptions (Adam and Harper, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref12">1</reflink>]; Bennett et al., [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref13">6</reflink>]; Kim et al., [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref14">45</reflink>]). Yet much of the representations at present are negative stereotypical depictions in children's books as reported in the United Kingdom and United States (Ayala, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref15">3</reflink>]; Beckett et al., [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref16">5</reflink>]; Crisp et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref17">25</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-4">Importance of diverse reading material</hd> <p>The books available to children at present are therefore not being that mirror for children to see themselves in the material their reading to feel proud about their identity, their culture, and their experiences. This is of great importance to address, as children lose motivation and interest if they cannot see themselves and furthermore reduce aspirations of what they can achieve (Enriquez, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref18">31</reflink>]). Children are more likely to connect with books that feature a protagonist they can identify with and recognise shared experiences (CLPE, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref19">21</reflink>]). Personalised reading involves children relating to an element of the text, such as sharing the same cultural background with a character (Kucirkova and Cremin, [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref20">49</reflink>]). Texts with personal elements supports children's reading engagement, interest and comprehension (Cochran‐Smith, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref21">22</reflink>]; Dunst et al., [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref22">30</reflink>]). This is of importance as children's reading attitude and motivation declines with age, and with few transitional books featuring Global Majority characters this can demotivate pupils impacting on them becoming competent skilled readers (Hughes‐Hassell et al., [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref23">38</reflink>]).</p> <p>When asked, children have expressed a desire to see characters similar to themselves in the books they have access to (Best et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref24">7</reflink>]). Global Majority children are currently deprived of ample opportunities to relate to stories and characters, since more books contain animal protagonists than protagonists who share their ethnic or cultural heritage (CLPE, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref25">21</reflink>]). This is seen in younger books when children are starting to develop their perceptions around race, with infants as young as 24 months shown to use race to reason about people's behaviour (Hirschfeld, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref26">37</reflink>]) and by 30 months, children have been shown to use race to choose their playmates (Katz and Kofkin, [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref27">43</reflink>]). Thus, the need for children to access ethnically diverse literature early in their reading journeys is highlighted as imperative and especially reading material without stereotypes that can negatively influence their perception towards different ethnicities.</p> <p>With a focus on a western view of the world in the literature, books at present are not windows or even sliding doors for children to accurately learn about cultures. Therefore, all children are then missing the opportunity to learn about one and another's culture. Group membership can impact on perceptions of the same event/material and behaviours towards others based on shared or differing group membership (Linville et al., [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref28">52</reflink>]; Turner et al., [<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref29">72</reflink>]). Contemporary research builds on this, with a meta‐analysis highlighting in‐group favouritism, identifying individuals showed increased cooperation and concern with in‐group members and outcomes (Balliet et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref30">4</reflink>]). Children mirrored this in‐group favouritism, perceiving in‐group members as more intelligent than outgroup members based on gender and ethnicity (Kisfalusi et al., [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref31">46</reflink>]). Therefore, a shared experience does not equal shared perceptions and beliefs between majority and minority ethnic groups, and this includes reading material. A pattern has been identified, in which a lack of Global Majority characters for Global Majority children to engage with leads to reduced representation and a belief that writing, or illustrating is not a profession suitable for them (Brook et al., [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref32">15</reflink>]). This is reflected in the low number of British Global Majority authors and illustrators equating to below 3% of children book creators (Ramdarshan, [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref33">61</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-5">The role of parents</hd> <p>Research focusing specifically on ethnic diversity in children's books is limited (Laumbach, [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref34">51</reflink>]); however, those conducted predominantly use content analysis to measure factors influencing parent perceptions on literature (Saracho and Spodek, [<reflink idref="bib64" id="ref35">64</reflink>]; Wagner, [<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref36">75</reflink>]) and the number of books containing ethnically diverse characters (Crisp et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref37">25</reflink>]; de Bruijn et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref38">27</reflink>]; Monoyiou and Symeonidou, [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref39">58</reflink>]). This limits exploration of perceptions specific to ethnic and cultural representation and reduces opportunities for informed suggestions for improvement. Global Majority parents are largely underrepresented in research with less than 2% of educational psychology journals examining the experiences of ethnic minorities (Matthews and López, [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref40">55</reflink>]). Most research inclusive of diverse ethnicities focuses on parent literacy behaviour rather than beliefs (Krijnen et al., [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref41">48</reflink>]) and these studies did not report any significant differences in literacy beliefs across different ethnic groups from the same country (Boomstra et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref42">12</reflink>]; Sawyer et al., [<reflink idref="bib66" id="ref43">66</reflink>]). However, these were not looking specifically at beliefs around culture and ethnicity in their child's reading diet.</p> <p>Children struggle to articulate their selection processes for books (Mohr, [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref44">56</reflink>]), whereas parents offer sophisticated perspectives concerning their children's needs in educational environments (Blackmore et al., [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref45">9</reflink>]; Cloughessy et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref46">20</reflink>]). Parents play a critical role in the access and engagement with reading material and should try to select reading material that reflects the diversity of society (Ramdarshan, [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref47">61</reflink>]). Therefore, highlighting the value of exploring children's home literacy environments and understanding book preferences from a parent's perspective (Wagner, [<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref48">75</reflink>]). Parent literacy perspectives are important, since they are described as 'critical curators' of children's reading materials (Wagner, [<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref49">75</reflink>], p. 2). Furthermore, children need support in helping them to 'push the door open to unfamiliar content', that is content that is not a western view of the world (Westby, [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref50">76</reflink>], p. 5).</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-6">Current study</hd> <p>It is therefore of importance to collate the parental perspective of the ethnic diversity of reading material available for their child to engage with. Alternative qualitative methods present an opportunity to explore parent perceptions of ethnicity in children's reading books more comprehensively (Yoo‐Lee et al., [<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref51">79</reflink>]). Considering the limited data on different ethnic group literacy perceptions, observed perception differences between Global Majority and White British ethnic groups, parental influence on children's literacy behaviours and identified issue of Global Majority underrepresentation in children's books, the proposed study will explore parents' perceptions of ethnic diversity in their children's reading books. In this study, a qualitative approach explored parents' perceptions of ethnic diversity of characters in their children's reading books.</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-7">Methodology</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0185030877-8">Project methodology</hd> <p>Semi structured interviews were conducted online with parents. The interviews were online due to the global pandemic and face‐to‐face research was not permitted. A reflexive thematic analysis, using an inductive and semantic approach was utilised to analyse the transcripts (Braun and Clarke, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref52">14</reflink>]) because of the limited research in the area and it allowed themes to be identified relating to parents' perceptions of ethnic diversity, allowing the participant voice to have a platform. In addition to the fact, it is considered useful in highlighting similarities and differences across data sets, thus facilitating theme comparison between Global Majority and White British parent's perceptions (Braun and Clarke, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref53">13</reflink>]). For the purposes of the study, an interview schedule informed by a review of the literature review was developed, including 12 questions and related follow up questions that facilitated exploration of parent's views regarding the frequency, value and quality of ethnic diversity in their children's reading books both at home and school. This allowed a flexible approach, in which deeper exploration of parent's perceptions and emotions could be explored using follow up questions (Mashuri et al., [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref54">54</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-9">Participants</hd> <p>The sample comprised of four Global Majority mothers (two Black British and two South Asian British) and four White British mothers, who were parents of children aged between 4 and 10 years old in full time education (nursery or primary school). Although all parents were mothers this was not part of the inclusion criteria, but the age range of children was included. The sample was selected for purpose of allowing comparison between Global Majority and White British parent perceptions. Once participants consented to take part in the study, a date and time was organised over email. At the start of each interview, introductions would take place and a definition of Global Majority was provided for all parents before questions began. At the end of interviews, parents would be thanked and informed that the debrief will be emailed to them. Despite the low risk, in case distress was caused during interviews the debrief form signposted participants to two organisations, including Race Equality First and the equality and human rights commission—race discrimination. Table 1 provides background characteristics for each participant.</p> <p>1 Table Participant sample table</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Participant</th><th>Parental ethnicity</th><th>Number of children</th><th>School year, age (years) and gender of children</th><th>Child ethnicity</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Jasmin</td><td>South Asian (Global Majority)</td><td>2</td><td>Reception (4 ½)/Female & Year 1 (6)/Female</td><td>South Asian</td></tr><tr><td>Nila</td><td>South Asian (Global Majority)</td><td>1</td><td>Nursery (4)/Female</td><td>Mixed White British and South Asian</td></tr><tr><td>Mercy</td><td>Black British (Global Majority)</td><td>1</td><td>Year 3 (8)/Female</td><td>Black British</td></tr><tr><td>Evith</td><td>Black British (Global Majority)</td><td>1</td><td>Nursery (4)/Male</td><td>Black British</td></tr><tr><td>Susie</td><td>White British</td><td>2</td><td>Reception (4)/Female & Year 2 (8)</td><td>White British</td></tr><tr><td>Isobel</td><td>White British</td><td>2</td><td>Year 3 (7)/Male & Reception (4)/Female</td><td>White British</td></tr><tr><td>Alice</td><td>White British</td><td>2</td><td>Year 6 (10)/Female & Year 1 (6)/Female</td><td>White British</td></tr><tr><td>Shaye</td><td>White British</td><td>2</td><td>Reception (4)/Female & Year 3 (8)</td><td>White British</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0185030877-10">Analysis</hd> <p>Braun and Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref55">14</reflink>]) steps for the reflexive thematic analysis were used to analyse the data. To become familiar with the data, the eight audio recordings were listened to several times and then transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were read through repeatedly, in order for notes to be produced on first impressions of the data. This consisted of key words being noted for each participant whilst reading through the transcripts. Following this, the data was organised in a meaningful and systematic manner using inductive thematic analysis, since coding and latter theme development was data driven and directed by participant responses rather than by pre‐existing theory or coding frame. Open coding was utilised by both authors, as codes were adapted throughout the coding process. Once all transcripts were coded, they were examined to identify patterns. Themes were identified at a semantic level, focusing on the explicit meaning of what participants said; the analytic process involving progression from description of patterns of semantic content to interpretation of the importance of these patterns and wider meanings and consequences.</p> <p>Researchers play a role in the interpretation of data. Reflexivity refers to recognising the fundamental role of the researcher and the potential influence personal beliefs, values and assumptions can have on interviewing procedure and analytic processes (Willig, [<reflink idref="bib78" id="ref56">78</reflink>]). The first author identifies with the Global Majority community, thus altering their world view and experiences as a mixed‐race individual of Jamaican and White British heritage. They ensured that their own beliefs of ethnic diversity did not impact questions being leading, or bias towards highlighting any assumed imbalance of diversity in books. The second author identifies with White British with an interest in this area understanding the importance of a diverse range of reading material for children to access, in analysing the data the author remained conscious that their beliefs did not interfere with the process by keeping a reflective diary. This continual reflective practice is key to addressing the potential influence of idiosyncratic elements of the researcher in qualitative research (Chamberlain et al., [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref57">18</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-11">Findings</hd> <p>Parents emphasised the importance of them being 'critical curators' of their children's home literacy environment (Wagner, [<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref58">75</reflink>]) in terms of both frequency and quality of ethnically diverse print exposure (Burgess et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref59">16</reflink>]; Katzir et al., [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref60">44</reflink>]; Tichnor‐Wagner et al., [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref61">70</reflink>]). Not only are parents shown to be critical in providing children with an ethnically diverse reading diet, they are integral to supporting the development of children's reading motivation, pleasure and performance (Boerma et al., [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref62">10</reflink>]; Hume et al., [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref63">40</reflink>]; Mol and Bus, [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref64">57</reflink>]), which has been highlighted to be especially important for Global Majority children who have less opportunities to connect with characters and thus less opportunity to develop a love for reading (CLPE, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref65">21</reflink>]). Parents felt providing an ethnically and culturally diverse reading diet was their responsibility in light of schools not providing a rich reading diet '<emph>I just wish that they'd represent modern day life a bit more and culture and stuff and obviously some authors are coming to the forefront now, they're trying to do it but erm. We're just we're as parents trying to get him books, he can kind of access, the whole erm so he's yeah so, he just enjoys a wealth of books rather than focusing on, purely kind of like his custom and culture I think</emph>' (Shaye). Two themes with associated subthemes are to be presented that explain the dataset from this study, these are presented in Table 2.</p> <p>2 Table Summary of the themes</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th>Main theme</th><th>Subthemes</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td>Identity formation</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Learning cultural practices and traditions</p></list-item><list-item><p>Importance of Hair</p></list-item></list></td><td>Parents expressed that reading material should reflect the world we live in and thus be representative of all ethnicities. Ethnically diverse representative book characters was thought to be key to encourage inclusion, self‐acceptance, confidence and an increased motivation to read for children. Reading was seen as a vehicle to initiate discussions between parents and children about topics of race, racism and learning about different cultures; linking to aspects of identity formation. There was an emotional element for Global Majority parents discussing topics such as hair that related to their personal experiences. Whereas White British parents focus was exploring and learning about different cultures to broaden their perspectives.</td></tr><tr><td>Ethnic diversity limitations of reading material</td><td><list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Stereotypes and token characters</p></list-item><list-item><p>Early reading schemes: where is the ethnic diversity?</p></list-item></list></td><td>Parents concluded that just because a book can look representative at a surface level, by having characters of different ethnicities, this does not equate to good quality ethnically and culturally representative books. Parents identified stereotypes and token characters as barriers for children to learn about different cultures. Most parents felt books for beginner readers lacked in ethnic diversity compared to the options available for older primary school readers.</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0185030877-12">Identity formation</hd> <p>Evidence suggests majority and minority group members have contrasting motivations and ideals (Dovidio et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref66">28</reflink>]), which is reflected, since even though all parents are proactive in promoting diversity, the underlying motivation presented is different. For instance, Global Majority parents motivating factors for ethnic diversity have been expressed to be emotion based and on a personal level, wanting their children to see themselves, their culture and experiences represented. Whereas, White British parents' motivations are strongly linked to reflecting a 'true representation of the world' and promoting equality, showing a broader overall focus providing that window to the world. However, similarly both parents use ethnically diverse books to initiate discussions around ethnicity and culture, with Global Majority parents showing a specific focus to issues they relate to. This theme encapsulates the parental views that books help a child develop who they are, and if a child cannot see themselves in the reading material the impact this has on their identity formation, as summarised by this parent '<emph>We live in a multicultural society and them only having black books to read or only white books to read is an unfair representation of what he's going to be living in</emph>' (Evith).</p> <p>A focal point of all interviews was the importance for all children to see themselves, as explained by this parent, '<emph>for every kid whatever they look like, to see someone who looks like them too is really important</emph>' (Alice), it helps them '<emph>feel included as well doesn't it?</emph>' (Evith). The parents were keenly expressing the need for what Bishop ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref67">8</reflink>]) discussed, for books to be mirrors, for all children to be represented in the reading material available. Despite this highlighted importance of representation, Global Majority children are more likely to read books with an animal protagonist than with a main character that shares their ethnic and cultural identity (CLPE, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref68">21</reflink>]). This can have a knock‐on effect with confidence levels and feelings of acceptance, as expressed by this parent '<emph>just think, to feel confident and to feel accepted and to feel that you can relate to other people is definitely important to have, children's books that represent the minority because we are, basically the majority in some cases and we are not represented as such, so I think if they have that in books then they can use their imagination and go wherever and they'll feel more free to ask questions to relate to them if someone's going through something</emph>' (Nila).</p> <p>Therefore, if children cannot see themselves in the reading material, this has an impact on their identity formation. An example provided by a parent demonstrated how their children thought only a princess could be White. '<emph>It was an Asian Rapunzel with long dark hair and I said to the girls, I said oh there's Rapunzel and they said oh that's not Rapunzel. Every picture of Rapunzel we have seen is golden hair and white skin but then I thought well actually that is a picture of Rapunzel ... I think it was just that their picture of Rapunzel was not that</emph>.' (Susie). Ethnically diverse books have been identified to act as windows, encouraging readers to challenge their own perspectives informed by their sole experiences to allow for development of more holistic perspectives that include understanding of different people and their experiences (Bishop, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref69">8</reflink>]; Cox and Galda, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref70">23</reflink>]; Tschida et al., [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref71">71</reflink>]). Therefore, in the case of Susie, the diverse books challenged her children's current perspectives of what Rapunzel looked like, broadening their ideas of what the princess could look like.</p> <p>Parents desire for children to see themselves in books aligns with past research in which parents wanted their children to see a family makeup that reflected their own (Cloughessy et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref72">20</reflink>]), emphasising parents' wish for their children to feel seen and included broadly. Moreover, parent perspectives are shown to reflect children's lived experiences of representation in reading books, since KS2 Global Majority children have also expressed that they do not see themselves in the books they engage with and have a desire for this to change (Best et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref73">7</reflink>]). It builds confidence and supports children to aspire '<emph>there was nothing there to say that black people can be an astronaut if you want to be. I think that's the difference, it's making people aspire, isn't it to do different things</emph>.' (Evith). This linking of representation and identity is in line with past research that highlighted a lack of representation in books can negatively impact children's sense of self value (Santora, [<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref74">63</reflink>]), ultimately contributing to identity development and aspirations.</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-13">Learning cultural practices and traditions</hd> <p>To develop your identity, is to '<emph>learn about cultures to appreciate cultures and also you need to know where you have come from to understand yourself more and to understand where you fit in society</emph>' (Evith). Diverse stories can act as a mirror, reflecting and legitimatising the culture and relatable experiences of Global Majority children (Bishop, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref75">8</reflink>]; Cox and Galda, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref76">23</reflink>]; Tschida et al., [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref77">71</reflink>]). For this sub‐theme, there was a level of difference between the parents, all parents agreed that reading material provides an opportunity to start a discussion with their child. In some cases, this can be on sensitive topics, like racism and discrimination. For parents from Global Majority backgrounds, there was a clear emotional drive to initiate conversations, with the parents selecting specific books to read with their children. Whereas for the parents that identified as White, the focus was more on discussions about different cultures only. It is understandable that White British parents do not have the same emotional significance attached to Global Majority characters, since people relate to individuals who most resemble themselves (Montoya et al., [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref78">59</reflink>]) and the situation would be the relatable component rather than ethnicity or culture. Reading material is the gateway to expand children's minds and knowledge of the world, as outlined by this parent '<emph>I wish they'd teach children all backgrounds, not just their own backgrounds so they can be brought up thinking it doesn't matter if I'm different or if I have a different skin colour</emph>.' (Mercy).</p> <p>The focus on equality and not seeing ethnicity as an 'issue' is presented as an important value for parents, it reflects their alignment with equal practices and ideals they want their children to live by and to influence their identity development. In group favouritism suggests that people show greater concern for in‐group member outcomes (Balliet et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref79">4</reflink>]; Turner et al., [<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref80">72</reflink>]) and have more positive perceptions towards in‐group members (Kisfalusi et al., [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref81">46</reflink>]). '<emph>I have conversations like that with them about it doesn't matter what your skin colour is but some people do see that as an issue and so people have had to fight</emph>' (Susie). However, White British parents do not reflect this, since they emphasise value in equality, hoping their children to acquire an equal worldview through diverse literature engagement and discussion. Susie demonstrates how books have the ability to act as a '<emph>springboard for discussion</emph>' on areas of culture and offer opportunities that feel genuine (Hall, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref82">35</reflink>]). A window to the world, previous research has focused this within a classroom setting whereas these comments highlight the need to also support parents to use literature to open children's eyes to the world around them.</p> <p>Research has reported teachers perceived books had low potential for transmitting societal rules and values in terms of gender roles (Filipović, [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref83">33</reflink>]), which contrasts the parents in this study, since they place a large value in ethnically diverse books having the potential to encourage equality and realistically depict modern society. Diverse representation of various groups is considered, not just looking at ethnicity and culture but a wider context of family composition, disability, and sexuality (Equality Act, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref84">32</reflink>]) that they feel also lack representation. Books are a source of knowledge, in which parents hope their children can transfer their learning to the real world (Ganea et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref85">34</reflink>]). This also contrasts with consistent findings that privileged majority ethnic group members were less supportive of multiculturalism (Verkuyten, [<reflink idref="bib73" id="ref86">73</reflink>]), since White British parents (in this study) valued equality and fairness for all groups.</p> <p>Reading is a way for children to learn about the world without leaving their sofa, if provided with the right reading material. In accessing a wide diet of reading material, it helps children to develop empathy and as outlined by Shaye '<emph>be appreciative of other people's customs and things and know about it</emph>' (Shaye). Yet, as this parent outlined there is not that material that '<emph>quantify areas of where people come from and their traditions for children and that is important because if you're a kid that's growing up and they're Ghanaian and they eat fufu where's that in a book? I don't see it, I don't see the cultural intricacies and colloquialisms as they should be represented</emph>' (Nila). Parallels are shown with Blackmore et al. ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref87">9</reflink>]) who also reported parents' perceptions identifying gaps and offering practical suggestions for increased inclusive school practice to meet their children's perceived needs. Developing an understanding of cultural practices and traditions then helps children to see who they are, supporting the focus of the main theme of identity formation, yet more books are needed.</p> <p>To initiate conversations with their children, parents were sourcing appropriate books. For example, this parent had selected the Rebel Girls book to read with her daughter; in reading the section on Rosa Parks, the parent and child had a discussion '<emph>about the difference in white and black and she asked am I classed as black and I was like yeah you would be classed as black but erm that's what I mean she did mention that she'd learnt something in school about it so obviously she must have done something for black history month for where she remembered the story. But again, that's me choosing then to read them so we can have that discussion, but the school reading books don't really provide that</emph>.' (Jasmin). Jasmin highlights the proactive role parents take in sourcing ethnically and culturally diverse books that they feel initiate conversations that directly inform aspects of their child's identity, in this case specifically around identifying their skin tone.</p> <p>Another parent also mentioned books enabled the chance to discuss skin colour and societal views '<emph>She [the daughter] says that is black, my skin colour is not that, its brown. And I say I understand that, but you've got to understand in the wider community you will always be classed as being black, so more of afro‐Caribbean ethnicity</emph>' (Mercy). For parents of a Global Majority background these conversations were of real importance and developed parent–child bond, in addition to allowing the child space and autonomy to explore their own perceptions of their identity and how this may differ to societal views. Moreover, these books are shown to be used as a 'springboard' for discussion on areas of culture and offer opportunities that feel genuine (Hall, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref88">35</reflink>]), as demonstrated by parents who used the reading material to engage in difficult conversations around race and racism.</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-14">Importance of hair</hd> <p>Three transcripts mentioned the use of books to discuss the topic of hair, all three parents were Global Majority. The book discussed was by '<emph>Rochelle Humes with her daughter and the hair</emph>' (Jasmin). For the Global Majority parents, the subject of hair was an important conversation to have with their daughters, and this book enabled them to have this conversation as it mirrored the experiences of their children. The importance of diverse hair representation as learning tools for young children's self‐esteem, perceptions of beauty and identity formation has been highlighted, with a specific focus on young Black girls' hair representation in particular (Boisvert, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref89">11</reflink>]; Crawford, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref90">24</reflink>]; Hurley, [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref91">41</reflink>]; Moreno, [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref92">60</reflink>]). If young girls just see White female characters with blonde hair this may negatively impact on their identity, as noted by this parent '<emph>I was the only brown child in my whole school, there was no one of any colour, it was all a predominantly white area and when I was growing up, I had nothing to resonate with, so I used to be embarrassed that my hair was long and black, when everybody was blonde and my face was brown and everyone's was white. ... So I think that if I'd have had books back then to relate to and see that there are people out there like me, I think that would have been excellent for my self‐esteem</emph>' (Nila). The topic of ethnic diversity in most of Global Majority parents led to an emotional link to their past and own experience of ethnic diversity with specific emotional content such as acceptance, aspiration and self‐esteem. This reflects research that proposes when the group self is activated (ethnicity) this connects group related content to individuals own personal experiences and emotions (Smith et al., [<reflink idref="bib68" id="ref93">68</reflink>]), which is what was observed in Global majority parent responses, emphasising the link between ethnic diversity, emotion, their personal experiences and identity formation.</p> <p>One parent mentioned in depth, how the book by Rochelle Humes along with other books purchased were used to help her child '<emph>to love her hair, that it doesn't have to be straight, and she can do lots of things about her hair</emph>'. In reading the book, the child recalled an event similar '<emph>oh that happens to me mom, well this books tells you now you can tell them, no don't touch my hair because even though I have told her before, now that she's seen it in the book it's become more it's become more, what would you say erm real, whereas now she's read it in a book and its someone that looks a bit like her, she's more, she relates a bit more, rather than me just telling her as her mom</emph>' (Mercy). Sharing the book provided the chance to learn and for the child to see that '<emph>she doesn't have to be like them to fit in</emph>' and it is not OK for other children to touch your hair without permission. Inclusive literature has the potential to legitimise Global Majority children's' experiences and inform their identity, mirroring children from LGBTQ+ family's positive experiences of accessing books showing their same‐sex family composition (Cloughessy and Waniganayake, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref94">19</reflink>]). This reflects Global Majority parents' tendency to focus on specific issues affecting Global Majority groups as a result of being part of the ethnic minority group in the United Kingdom, in this case hair, but other areas explored included skin colour, fitting in, acceptance and aspirations, all areas informed by the experience of being an ethnic minority.</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-15">Ethnic diversity limitations of reading material</hd> <p>When interviewing the parents each individual parent had a moment of clarity in that yes there is ethnic representation but is it good representation? For example, parents spoke about books written by David Walliams, and the worrying popularity of these books that used stereotypical ethnic characters for humour. Evith questioned why characters are represented in this way and how has it been considered acceptable, giving the example of a Jamaican cultural group of Rastafari alongside negative stereotypes involving crime, flawed language, and poor punctuality. Parents show a confusion towards why this is deemed appropriate or beneficial for their children and highlights the progress still needed for authentic representation, as expressed by Isobel '<emph>I guess although there is some diversity, it's definitely not enough and its definitely not a true representation of the world which is what I would like my children to have</emph>' (Isobel). Global Majority parents particularly tended to explore these stereotypes to a greater degree, questioning specific stereotypes linked to their cultural group, highlighting their personal connection to the material. The parents all called for a need that children can see themselves, their ethnicity and their culture in books they read in a positive manner. This need for positive ethnic and cultural representation was also highlighted in past content analysis research which highlighted books classed as representative, yet there are still negative stereotypes present (Ayala, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref95">3</reflink>]; Beckett et al., [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref96">5</reflink>]; Crisp et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref97">25</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-16">Stereotypes and token characters</hd> <p>All of the parents were passionate about the need to move away from the '<emph>odd token, ermm maybe black or Asian character</emph>' as noted by this parent '<emph>it's quite rare that you ever see like it's the whole family, its sometimes like the token black friend that appears in the book. I'd probably say it's been a handful of occasions that I've seen you know a different name that's not you know a predominantly English name</emph>' (Jasmin). The parents echoed what had been reported in CLPE report that there '<emph>might be an odd brown character or odd Chinese character but nothing prolific you know what I mean there's no leading person</emph>' (Nila).</p> <p>Unfortunately, as highlighted by a couple of parents in some cases this character can be described in a stereotypical manner '<emph>like the Asian corner shop person</emph>' (Nila). Stereotypes in children's books is a prevalent issue that has been repeatedly identified (Ayala, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref98">3</reflink>]; Crisp et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref99">25</reflink>]; Hughes‐Hassell and Cox, [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref100">39</reflink>]). Parents all expressed the need to move away from ethnic stereotypes so that children can learn about different cultures in an authentic way not through a western White person viewpoint. Furthermore, as highlighted by Enriquez ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref101">31</reflink>]) these stereotypes create foggy mirrors as children see themselves but not depicted from their experiences. This draws on the recent movement to decolonise the curriculum which has seen a drive for a more inclusive curriculum (Arday et al., [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref102">2</reflink>]), aligning with parent's attitudes. However, to move away from the stereotypical portrayal is only possible if the creators of reading material are ethnically and culturally diversified, which at present is not, as noted by this parent '<emph>I know that was written by a black author and there's other ones where I kind of erm seen in be recommended by people and known it's been yeah written from that culture in mind</emph>' (Susie)'. For change to happen, need to start with publishers and the ethnic diversity of authors.</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-17">Early reading schemes: Where is the diversity?</hd> <p>The concept, pedagogy of loss (Davies and Semann, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref103">26</reflink>]) regards the general concern that schools are missing opportunities for ethnic diversity to be explored sufficiently and relates to parents' belief of schools limited role in providing ethnically and culturally diverse books. Parents and teachers have been identified as key figures for offering ethnically diverse reading materials for children (Schewe, [<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref104">67</reflink>]); however, parents express an imbalance in the perceived efforts both have in providing these diverse books. When reading the transcripts there was an apparent difference in the reading material available for children. A number of parents mentioned reading schemes their children were accessing at school as not being ethnically diverse.</p> <p>Parents noted that in Biff and Chip books '<emph>there is a black girl and a black boy and an Asian girl and Asian boy so there be yeah so there's about seven or eight kids who crop up regularly. The main characters are white though, so the main family like this Biff, Chip, Kipper and all them, they are all white</emph>' (Susie). One parent questioned whether these books have changed, and they might have but schools have not accessed new copies, but this parent felt more ethnically diverse characters were needed '<emph>they could change quite easily change the pictures erm but yeah, I can understand they are long‐standing books but still they could re‐illustrate. When they do the re‐illustration of stuff, they could quite easily change some of the colours of the kids in it</emph>' (Jasmin). This perspective is consistent with findings that Global Majority characters are rare in transitional books for young readers, which was also identified to potentially act as a barrier for children to become motivated and competent readers (Hughes‐Hassell et al., [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref105">38</reflink>]). It appears according to the parents that the books for younger developing readers are old and outdated '<emph>there are the old Biff and Chip books that are quite dated now and also erm kind of phonics books which are they don't really have prescribed minority, or you know ethnic groups</emph>' (Shaye).</p> <p>Parents are referring to the Oxford reading tree Biff, Chip and Kipper reading scheme used in UK schools for over 30 years. Despite parents in the present study highlighting the lack of Global Majority leading characters, it has been criticised in the past for it's depiction of gender roles and disability (Mapley, [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref106">53</reflink>]; Wharton, [<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref107">77</reflink>]). Research has highlighted the reading schemes dominant focus on male characters presented as incapable, dependent and the joke punchline and a distinct lack of female leading characters, who are presented as capable and proactive, thus establishing problematic gender stereotypes and expectations to children (Wharton, [<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref108">77</reflink>]). Additionally, the books rarely showed disabled characters, presenting abelsim as the norm (Mapley, [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref109">53</reflink>]). Therefore, the Oxford reading tree books aimed at young developing readers has shown to insufficiently depict gender, disability and diverse ethnicities yet are still widely used in schools across the United Kingdom.</p> <hd id="AN0185030877-18">Discussion</hd> <p>Books are a source of knowledge, in which parents hope their children can transfer their learning to the real world (Ganea et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref110">34</reflink>]). They are the window to the world and for children see themselves and feel proud of who they are. All parents placed a high value on their children accessing diverse texts but novel findings of differences between Global Majority and White British parents' perceptions were found on use of books to start important conversations with their child. Global Majority parents' values closely aligned with emotional significance for themselves and their child in terms of encouraging feelings of empowerment and acceptance, relating to their self‐image and cultural identity. This emotional expression was present throughout the themes, showing links to their motivation behind their proactive role in obtaining ethnically diverse books and identifying stereotypes. Moreover, Global Majority parents reflected on their own experiences of lack of representation to highlight their perceptions of progress in ethnic and cultural representation, an aspect not previously identified. White British parents' value was related more to the desired purpose they felt the books could provide for their children, offering an accurate reflection of cultural diversity shown in the real world and promoting an inclusive perspective for their children. Though contrasts are present between Global Majority and White British parents, both shared the common importance of acceptance, whether that being for the child's self (Global Majority) or those different to themselves (White British).</p> <p>The study reflects similarities with seminal and contemporary research on group membership, demonstrating perceptions differ between different groups (Henderson et al., [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref111">36</reflink>]; Linville et al., [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref112">52</reflink>]; Rice and Piquero, [<reflink idref="bib62" id="ref113">62</reflink>]; Sargeant et al., [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref114">65</reflink>]; Verkuyten and Reijerse, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref115">74</reflink>]). However, in this case, the differences in perceptions were between Global Majority parents and White British parents on the area of ethnic and cultural diversity in their children's books. Though the present differences between parent groups are not as broad as previous research has shown where strong in‐group favouritism is observed (Balliet et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref116">4</reflink>]; Kisfalusi et al., [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref117">46</reflink>]; Turner et al., [<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref118">72</reflink>]). Parents share the ideal of engagement with ethnically diverse books, but it is the emotion and personal impact that differs.</p> <p>Our data emphasises the significance of an ethnically and culturally diverse reading diet is to parents, with parents informing us they take the time to proactively seek books to start a conversation with their children. Underrepresentation of Global Majority parents in educational literature (Matthews and López, [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref119">55</reflink>]) meant we did not know before the emotional significance of accessing ethnically diverse books and the importance for identity formation. Previous research has documented books are important for identity, here parents spoke about using books as conversation starters for particular topics such as hair and exploring skin tone. Moreover, parents were able to expand on the broad issue of lack of ethnic and cultural diversity in children's books (CLPE, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref120">21</reflink>]) and offer rich exploration of specific lacking regarding 'cultural intricacies and colloquialisms' of different cultural groups and emphasising the importance they place on this for their children's identity, using their past experiences of not being represented as a reference point. Parents desire for ethnically diverse books as essential and necessary for all children was made clear, and since parents showed to provide a large proportion of their children's reading diet, increasing the authentic representation of the Global Majority should be considered as a priority for children's book publishers going forward. But also, for schools with parents feeling schools did not provide ethnically diverse books for their children, reflecting past findings of low Global Majority representation in books (CLPE, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref121">21</reflink>]; Crisp et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref122">25</reflink>]; de Bruijn et al., [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref123">27</reflink>]; Larrick, [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref124">50</reflink>]). The prominence of ethnic and cultural stereotypes in findings of previous studies on representation in children's books (Ayala, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref125">3</reflink>]; Crisp et al., [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref126">25</reflink>]; Hughes‐Hassell and Cox, [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref127">39</reflink>]) was echoed here also.</p> <p>Parents showed patterns of interpreting what their children potentially felt in response to engaging with diverse books; however, this is not accurate as it's secondary reporting and parents' own opinions. Despite, evidence showing parents perceptions are highly influential on children's own perceptions and behaviours (Duman et al., [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref128">29</reflink>]) their reports cannot be applied to their children. This was acknowledged during analysis of parent responses however and reported as parents perceived value for their child. Future research is needed speaking to children about their thoughts on the ethnic and cultural diversity of reading material provided.</p> <p>Evidence has shown that specific Global Majority groups in the United Kingdom have differing perceptions of their identity, with Bangladeshi groups more likely to identify as British compared to Black Africans (Sunak and Rajeswaran, [<reflink idref="bib69" id="ref129">69</reflink>]). Different Global Majority groups offer unique views around identity and perceived barriers, suggesting there may be differences in ideals of how they would like their ethnic identity represented in books and may identify different barriers to why this representation is not the case. Research to investigate if these different perspectives apply to ethnic representation in children's books would further enrich the evidence base.</p> <p>The study raises specific implications for policy and practice due to its links to education. Firstly, parents highlighted their proactive role and schools perceived limitations in providing ethnically diverse reading materials opens opportunity for collaboration between the two, since school and parent communication is linked to student academic success and engagement (Kraft and Rogers, [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref130">47</reflink>]). When considered in addition to the fact parents suggested practical changes for ethnically diverse school reading books, this suggests that parents could play a pivotal role in working with schools, to find solutions in achieving their goal of increased ethnic and cultural diversity in schoolbooks. Teachers have been identified as key figures in providing diverse books from Global Majority authors to families, highlighting school's important role in addressing the issue (Ramdarshan, [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref131">61</reflink>]). Reading schemes were mentioned by the parents in this study as problematic. We recommend that teachers review these schemes or update schemes to reflect their multicultural student population. Children being able to see themselves in their reading material is important for motivation and engagement, therefore we recommend that schools reflect on their current school library catalogue and consider whether it reflects their student population.</p> <p>The study offers a unique contribution of comparison between perceptions of Global Majority and White British parents, highlighting novel findings of the emotional importance ethnically diverse books represent for Global Majority parents and the white British priority for ethnically diverse books to represent modern societal ethnic representation and promote equality. In a context of increasing social awareness, parents' perceptions align with promoting equal, fair and representative books for their children.</p> <ref id="AN0185030877-19"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref12" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Adam, H. and Harper, L. 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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Children Need to See Themselves in Their Reading Material: Parental Perspectives on the Importance of Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Reading Material
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mary+A%2E+Scorer%22">Mary A. Scorer</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Emma+J%2E+Vardy%22">Emma J. Vardy</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7825-2270">0000-0002-7825-2270</externalLink>)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Literacy%22"><i>Literacy</i></searchLink>. 2025 59(2):207-218.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 12
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading+Materials%22">Reading Materials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Attitudes%22">Parent Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Pluralism%22">Cultural Pluralism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethnic+Diversity%22">Ethnic Diversity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Concept%22">Self Concept</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Racial+Identification%22">Racial Identification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+Awareness%22">Cultural Awareness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethnic+Stereotypes%22">Ethnic Stereotypes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading+Material+Selection%22">Reading Material Selection</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parent+Role%22">Parent Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Whites%22">Whites</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Minority+Groups%22">Minority Groups</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tokenism%22">Tokenism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom%22">United Kingdom</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1111/lit.12379
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1741-4350<br />1741-4369
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: To support children's engagement with reading material, it is important children are represented in reading material provided. As Parents are the curators of their child's reading diet, in this study the parental perspectives of the ethnic diversity of available reading material for their children was explored. Eight parents were interviewed individually online to explore their perceptions of diversity in their children's reading books. Interview scripts were analysed taking a reflexive thematic analysis approach. There was a commonality across all parents in that children's literature needed to represent the multicultural society their child lived in, but the emotional and personal content in this message differed between parents. To explain the data two themes of identify formation and ethnic diversity limitations of reading material are discussed. Identity formation encapsulated the parents focus on children needing to see themselves in reading material to learn about themselves and their culture. Therefore, it is important to avoid stereotyping which is the second theme. All parents noted the need for more diversity broadly in children's reading material, from publishers but also availability of diverse reading material from educational settings.
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  Label: Abstractor
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  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1470628
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1470628
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/lit.12379
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 207
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Reading Materials
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parent Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cultural Pluralism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ethnic Diversity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self Concept
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Racial Identification
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cultural Awareness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ethnic Stereotypes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reading Material Selection
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parent Role
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Whites
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Minority Groups
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tokenism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Children Need to See Themselves in Their Reading Material: Parental Perspectives on the Importance of Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Reading Material
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Mary A. Scorer
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Emma J. Vardy
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 1741-4350
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1741-4369
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 59
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Literacy
              Type: main
ResultId 1