Journal of Children's Literature Studies

Analysis of Gender stereotypes in the Published stories of the Institute for the ‎Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in the 60s (A and B ‎Age Groups)‎

Najmeh Hosseini Sarvari; Mohammad Sadegh Basiri; Mahla Sadat Hosseini Saber

Volume 16, Issue 1 , May 2025, , Pages 53-70

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2024.47993.2000

Abstract

Socialization is the process through which an unaware child gradually becomes a self-aware, knowledgeable, and skilled individual who respects the values and teachings of the ... Read More

The Role of the Story in Nurturing and Strengthening the Child's Questioning Skills

Ali Shiravani Shiri

Volume 13, Issue 2 , March 2023, , Pages 193-220

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2021.39417.1854

Abstract

One of the most important and obvious features of children is asking countless questions in various fields. This characteristic of the child, which is rooted in his curiosity and truth-seeking, ... Read More

Does the Text Embrace the Child? the Implied Reader in the Stories of the Elementary School Persian Textbooks (the first three-years)

Soudabeh Shokrollahzadeh

Volume 13, Issue 1 , September 2022, , Pages 83-110

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2021.40895.1882

Abstract

Does the Text Embrace the Child? the Implied Reader in the Stories of the Elementary School Persian Textbooks (the first three-years) Soudabeh ShokrollahzadehAssistant professor of ... Read More Does the Text Embrace the Child? the Implied Reader in the Stories of the Elementary School Persian Textbooks (the first three-years) Soudabeh ShokrollahzadehAssistant professor of education, department of education, Allameh Tabataba'i University IntroductionIn the National Curriculum of the Islamic Republic of Iran eleven areas of teaching and learning are defined, one of which is "Persian language and literature". In this document, the approach to teaching of this area is "communicative" which not only orients the classroom teaching and learning, but also pervades other mediators such as elementary school Persian textbooks, wherein the communicative approach is more outstanding than other textbooks; because they mainly deal with literature, which is the manifestation of language. From Bakhtin's point of view, language essentially addresses, that is "all language is addressed to someone, never uttered without consciousness of a relationship between the speaker and the addressee" (Guerin et al, 2005: 362). Therefore, any media dealing with language (whether oral, written, or visual) always forms a relationship with the audience, so does the elementary school Persian textbooks. It is therefore impotent to address how Persian textbooks communicate with their audiences through their stories, as this communication plays role in the child's construction of subjectivity.Research method, literature and the research purposeThis research is qualitative. The samples are fourteen stories of elementary school Persian textbooks (the first three-years). Data analysis method is deductive-inductive content analysis in terms of which I analyze the samples based on the components of Aiden Chambers' theory of "the reader in the book", namely, style, point of view, taking sides and tell-tale gaps, as well as the criterion of " taking sides of children and adolescents as the fictional characters" as proposed by the picturebook group of SUCCLS.The literature review reveals that the issue of implied reader in textbooks has especially been taken as a theoretical framework in mathematics and geometry, but it is understood and applied differently from what Chambers conceptualizes. As far as the objective of this research is concerned, it purports to investigate the implied reader of the stories of elementary school Persian textbooks (the first three-years) based on Aiden Chambers theory of "the reader in the book". In this connection there are three objectives: 1. Investigating the ability of stories used in Persian textbooks in drawing the readers in to the text 2. Discerning the embedded child in the stories 3. Examining whether these stories can be considered as children's works.DiscussionIn this section, I investigate Chambers' components of implied reader in the stories. StyleIn the analysis of style, plot, tone, figures of speech, imagery, choice of words, omissions occurred in the process of retellings, simplification and compression of stories in the retellings are considered. The main weakness of plot in most stories is underdeveloped obstacles the protagonists face to conquer. In other words, the plot is devoid of serious challenges or they are very superficial in that a character rather than the child solves the problems quickly; while no space of inquiry, problem-solving, decision-making and constructing subjectivity is left for the child. Imageries are weak too. The words are very formal and adult-like and sensory verbs are rarely used. The tone of speech is serious, cold, and distant from the child. It is used in an abstract and descriptive way. The omission of parts of the story and fading the humor are stylistic changes in retellings that has reduce the aesthetics of the work. point of viewThe omniscient and limited third person point of view are the two dominant points of view for narrating these stories. Surprisingly, no stories are narrated in first peson and the child is not the narrator. Taking sideDue to strict educational goals, most of the stories do not take side of children as much as they should, and hence, didacticism leaves no space for being child-likeness, and experiencing childhood. The tone of the narrator in these stories is warning and cautionary; The child has obey the adult's warnings about the consequences of her/ his actions and not transgressing them, otherwise s/he will be faced with the result of her/his behavior. Tell-tale gapsRegarding tell-tale gaps, there are deep deficiencies. The stories do not call for the ambiguity and not allowing the reader to have different interpretations so that the reader cannot participate in meaning-making. It seems that the reason for this is the tendency towards strong didacticism, in that the priority is the message transmitted, not giving space to the audience to create meaning.ConclusionIn this research, I have investigated three questions: 1. Can the stories used in the elementary school Persian textbooks draw the child into the text? How do these stories establish relationship with the child? 2. What concept of the child is embedded in these stories? 3. Can these stories be considered children's work or not? The answer to the first question is negative. the concept of child embedded in these stories is a static child who does not participate in meaning-making and imagination. The stories do not "halve this matter amicably". S/he is an ignorant and cognitively incomplete being whom, under the heavy shadow of adult authority, must submit to intense didacticism in order to reach the adulthood developmental endpoint. Given the findings, the answer to the third question seems negative. But what is the solution? I suggest that the textbook policymakers and authors need to benefit from existing children's literature which can both meet the goals of literacy and language learning intended by formal education and establish a democratic relationship with the child by taking her/him into account.Keyword: Aiden Chambers, Implied Reader, Story, Elementary school Persian textbooks, Child ReferencesAmiri Khorasani, Ahmed; Sadrizadeh, Nagin. (2017). A study of audience development in children's and young adult resistance literature. (based on Aiden Chambers' theory of "the reader in the book"). Journal of resistance literature, 18, 25-52. (in Persian)Berger, M. (2017). Reading mathematics text: a study of two empirical readings. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. 17 (2), 3Biesta, G. J.J. (2004). "Mind the gap!": Communication and the educational relation. In C. Bingham & A. M. Sidorkin (Eds), No education without relation (11-22), New York: Peter Lang. Chambers, A. (2008). the reader in the book. In M. Khosronejad, in quest for the centre (ed) (pp 113-152). Tehran: Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults. (in Persian)Guerin, W. L; et al (2005). A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Fifth edition. New York: Oxford University Press.Herman, D; Jahn, M; & and Ryan, M.L. (eds). (2010). Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory. London: Routledge.Hessampour, S. (2010). A study of implied reader in in Ahmad Akbarpour's fiction (based on Aiden Chambers' theory). Journal of Children's Literature Studies, 1 (1), 101-127. (in Persian)Hessampour, S; Pirsufi Amalshipour, Z; and Asadi, S. (2012). The implied reader in two of Ahmadreza Ahmadi's children's fiction. Literary Criticism, 21, 111-135. (in Persian)Johnson, G & Arp, T. R. (2018). Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sens (13th edition). Australia: CENGAGE Learning.Khazaei, Dawood et, al. (Unpublished). Encyclopedia of children's literature. (in Persian)Khosronjad, M. (2003). Innocence and experience: an introduction to the philosophy of children's literature. Third edition. Tehran: Nahr-e-Marzan. (in Persian)Kiefer, B. (2002). Charlotte Huck's children's literature (children's literature in the elementary school). U.S.A: McGraw-Hill HumanitiesMcCallum, R. (1999). Ideologies of identity in adolescent fiction: The dialogic construction of subjectivity. New York: Garland publishing.McGillis, R. (1991). The embrace: Narrative voice and children's books. Canadian Children's Literature. 63, 24-40.Mirzaei Perkali, J; and Gholami, F. (2017). From theory to practice: a study of " the reader in the book" in Aiden Chambers' A Handful of Wheat. Research in Contemporary World Literature, 23 (1), 215-234. (in Persian)Moini, F; and Hessampour, S. (2018). Implied reader as the criterion for text selection in retelling (a study of implied reader in Kalileh and Demaneh based on the theory of Aiden Chambers). Textual criticism of Persian literature. 4 (44). 1-16. (in Persian)National curriculum of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (2011). Tehran: Higher Council of Education in cooperation with Educational Research and Planning Organization. (in Persian)Nikolajeva, M. (2005). Aesthetic approaches to children's literature: an introduction. Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.Salehi, P; and Bagheri, K. (2015). A study of implied reder in Zakaria Tamer's children's fiction based on the theory of Aiden Chambers'. Lasan Mobeen Quarterly (Arabic Literature Research), 26, 45-71. (in Persian)Sell, R. d. (2002). children's literature as communication. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing CompanyShabani, A. (2016). De-childization in elementary textbooks in Iran. Quarterly Journal of the Iranian Association for Cultural and Communication Studies, 46, 37-69.Short, C.G. (2011). Reading literature in elementary classroom. In S. Wolf, K. Coats P. Enciso & C. Jenkins (Eds), Handbook of research on children's and young adult literature (pp 48-62). New York: outledge.Sobhi Mohtadi, F. (1387). Sobhi's tales. Vol. 2. Tehran: Moin. (in Persian)Weinberg, A., & Wiesner, E. (2011). Understanding mathematics textbooks through reader-oriented theory. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 76, 49–63.

A comparative study of stylistics of fantasy in English and Persian children's literature

Sedigheh Meghdari

Volume 10, Issue 1 , September 2019, , Pages 173-200

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2018.22447.1441

Abstract

A comparative study of stylistics of fantasy in English and Persian children's literatureSedighehsadat Meghdari ... Read More

Intertextuality in Ahmad Reza Ahmadi's It Was Raining in the Big Garden

Saeid Hesampour; Samaneh Asadi; Zahra Pirsoufi Amlashi

Volume 7, Issue 1 , January 0, , Pages 25-48

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2016.3097

Abstract

Hesampour* S. Asadi** Z. Pirsoufi*** Shiraz University Abstract Intertextuality is a literary approach which allows critics to study the existing connections ... Read More

An Analysis of a Tale in the Lak Dialect Based on Jung's Psychology

Ali Heydari

Volume 4, Issue 1 , January 0, , Pages 49-68

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2013.560

Abstract

Heidari* Lurestan University Abstract Stories are an important part of the cultural heritage of any nation. Contrary to modern scientific notion of the ... Read More

Looking for Independence: Choosing Suitable Literary Texts for the Program of Philosophy for Children

Volume 1, Issue 2 , January 0, , Pages 125-155

https://doi.org/10.22099/jcls.2012.440

Abstract

J.Farzanfar* Y.Ghaedi** M.Naghibzade*** A.Mahmoodnia**** Tehran Teacher Training University This paper is a content analysis of several stories in order to ... Read More

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Keywords = Story

Analysis of Gender stereotypes in the Published stories of the Institute for the ‎Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in the 60s (A and B ‎Age Groups)‎

Abstract

The Role of the Story in Nurturing and Strengthening the Child's Questioning Skills

Abstract

Does the Text Embrace the Child? the Implied Reader in the Stories of the Elementary School Persian Textbooks (the first three-years)

Abstract

A comparative study of stylistics of fantasy in English and Persian children's literature

Abstract

Intertextuality in Ahmad Reza Ahmadi's It Was Raining in the Big Garden

Abstract

An Analysis of a Tale in the Lak Dialect Based on Jung's Psychology

Abstract

Looking for Independence: Choosing Suitable Literary Texts for the Program of Philosophy for Children

Abstract