Representations of Astronomy in Children's Storybooks

Representations of Astronomy in Children’s Storybooks

Presenter: Alison Allen, Rockman et al. Cooperative, USA

Collaborator: Julia D. Plummer, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

This was a poster presented at the 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE, http//astro4edu.org).

Storybooks are widely used in schools as an entry point into science learning. As a result, storybooks should provide an accurate and equitable representation of science and scientists. Therefore, we conducted a content analysis of 32 astronomy storybooks published between 2001-2021. While about half the books include characters using at least one science practice, few portrayed characters investigating an astronomical phenomenon. Half the books contained inaccuracies. Gender representation was relatively balanced. The sample includes a relatively even distribution of characters’ racial background; yet, this balance disappeared when books from Diverse Book Finder were removed from the sample. Our study suggests that there are limitations in how current children’s books represent astronomy.

About the 4th Shaw-IAU Workshop:

The topic for this year’s Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education is ‘Leveraging the potential of astronomy in formal education’ and is scheduled to run 15 to 17 November 2022 as a fully virtual event on Hopin as in previous years. This year’s Shaw-IAU Workshop focuses on the role of astronomy in the core regions of formal, primary and secondary, education: How do we teach astronomy as its own subject? What is the role of astronomy in teaching physics or chemistry – or in communicating such a central future topic as climate change? In sessions marked with a * we aim to hear specifically from teachers. We also address the question of how to approach those who set the framework for teaching: How can you get your administration, or at a much higher level: your education ministry, to listen to you? Last but not least we look at how to bridge the divide between the fundamentals that are commonly taught in school and results from cutting-edge research, which tend to be fascinating to students and the general public alike. he workshop was organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (http://astro4edu.org). More details can be found on: https://astro4edu.org/shaw-iau/4th-shaw-iau-workshop/

Keep up to date with future Shaw-IAU Workshops and other opportunities at the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education by joining our mailing list https://astro4edu.org/mailing-list/ Follow the IAU OAE on Twitter and Facebook under @astro4edu