Developing While Black: An Exploration of Racial Discourse Found in the Play of Black Preschool Girls
| dc.contributor.advisor | Alanís, Iliana | |
| dc.contributor.author | Sturdivant, Toni Denese | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Ndimande, Bekisizwe | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Sutterby, John A. | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Winkler, Erin | |
| dc.creator.orcid | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5507-8927 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-03-08T15:43:29Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-03-08T15:43:29Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020 | |
| dc.description | This item is available only to currently enrolled UTSA students, faculty or staff. To download, navigate to Log In in the top right-hand corner of this screen, then select Log in with my UTSA ID. | |
| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this qualitative exploration was to examine how issues of race are manifested in the play of young Black preschool girls, acknowledging the role that different contexts play in development and the role that race and gender play in our society, as framed through Critical Race Feminism and Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory. This study was a qualitative case study, with two four-year old girls from one early childhood center. I added a salon-themed prop box that included four racially diverse dolls into the dramatic play center. I observed and recorded the ways the girls played with the dolls, the language they used, and their behavior toward each other. By observing their play as it was naturally occurring, I was able to obtain the young girls' perspectives. This inquiry sought to answer the following questions: (1) How do Black preschool girls engage in play with racially diverse dolls? (2) What racial discourse are present in the play of Black preschool girls? Data sources included audio and visual recordings, field notes, a parent questionnaire, on-the-spot child interviews, and observations. I transcribed and analyzed the data using critical discourse analysis in order to elucidate the presence of racial and gender discourse within the racial learning of young children. The way in which the girls played with the racially diverse dolls revealed three aspects of their developing racial identities. These four-year old girls displayed their awareness of race through rules governing their play. The girls revealed their racial preferences through their play choices as well as their behavior. Through their play, girls displayed preferences for straight hair over short and curly hair and a preference for light skin instead of dark skin. They privileged certain dolls (Latina and White) and refused to play with others. They used the privileged dolls to gain status within the playgroup. Finally, the girls manifested the way they were identifying with their race, in changes made to themselves during play (e.g. skin color and hair texture).The discourse present in the play included female attractiveness necessitating long, straight hair, and light skin being the most desirable skin tone. | |
| dc.description.department | Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching | |
| dc.format.extent | 118 pages | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.isbn | 9798645470487 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/5642 | |
| dc.language | en | |
| dc.subject | critical race feminism | |
| dc.subject | culturally relevant pedagogy | |
| dc.subject | early childhood | |
| dc.subject | phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory | |
| dc.subject | play | |
| dc.subject | racial identity development | |
| dc.subject.classification | Early childhood education | |
| dc.subject.classification | African American studies | |
| dc.title | Developing While Black: An Exploration of Racial Discourse Found in the Play of Black Preschool Girls | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.dcmi | Text | |
| dcterms.accessRights | pq_closed | |
| thesis.degree.department | Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Texas at San Antonio | |
| thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy |
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