The Pictorial Representation of Gender and Physical Activity Level in Caldecott Medal Winning Children's Literature (1940-1999): A Relational Analysis of Physical Culture

Abstract

The pictorial representation of physical activity and gender over three time periods is investigated in Caldecott Medal winning children's literature. Relational analysis and recent national position documents on physical activity are used to frame an interdependent relationship between current levels of physical activity among children and the various institutionalized forms of physical culture with which they interact. Fifty-seven Caldecott Medal winning books were analyzed. Frequency counts were recoded for each book in four categories: (1) females engaged in sedentary roles, (2) females engaged in active roles, (3) males engaged in sedentary roles and (4) males engaged in active roles. A 2 (gender) 2 2(activity level) 2 3 (time period) factorial ANOVA adjusted for nonormally distributed data was used to test frequency of pictorial representation. Results indicate the illustrations in Caldecott Medal literature are a poor media for communicating a physically active lifestyle to children while at the same time have consistently underrepresented females. Males were significantly more likely to be portrayed than females (p < 0.05) and, regardless of gender, sedentary roles were significantly more likely to be portrayed than active roles (p < 0.05). This condition did not change significantly over the three time periods tested (1940-1959, 1960-1979 and 1980-1999). With recent national position documents identifying young people as largely inactive and unfit researchers and practitioners are (1) encouraged to rethink the seemingly innocent relationship between picture books and the trend of inactivity currently seen in the United States and (2) develop skills related to critical media literacy as part of a pedagogy for new times.