Open AccessPicturing Rural America
Author(s) -
Karen Eppley
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the rural educator/the rural educator
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2643-9662
pISSN - 0273-446X
DOI - 10.35608/ruraled.v32i1.433
Subject(s) - rurality , dialog box , rural area , happening , qualitative research , sociology , conversation , rural sociology , geography , social science , rural development , history , political science , communication , performance art , law , art history , agriculture , archaeology , world wide web , computer science
A quiet but persistent dialog about the importance of place is happening in educational research. This study contributes to that conversation by offering a critical analysis of how picture books show a “placed,” rural America. To increase understanding of the social constructions of rurality, 24 picture books were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to determine how contemporary rural life is represented in picture books for children. Results indicated images falling into six categories: Rural people are self-reliant; rural people are connected; rural people are satisfied and happy; rural people are diverse; rural areas are expendable and, rural people are ‘Other’.