Gendered Discourses in Grade 3 English eBooks on a Digital Library Platform

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Asian Journal of English Language Teaching ›› 2024, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (1) : 37-52.

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Gendered Discourses in Grade 3 English eBooks on a Digital Library Platform

Anna Wing Bo TSO

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Abstract

Social justice and gender equality have long been promoted in schools and educa- tion sectors in Hong Kong. However, it remains unclear whether these efforts have led to meaningful changes in children's literature popular among Hong Kong readers. In particular, the extent to which recent children's books have moved away from male-dominated narratives and improved female representation warrants further examination. To increase gender awareness in young readers, parents, teachers, and librarians in the local community and beyond, this paper examines the gender representation in seven Grade 3 English e-chapbooks catego- rized under Reading Recovery (RR) level 22 (for readers aged eight to nine) in Highlights Library, one of the leading digital reading platforms in the world. In terms of the male-to-female ratio in the book titles, book cover illustrations, and central characters of eBooks at RR level 22, the study shows that female charac- ters outnumber male characters in most e-chapbooks catalogued in the digital library. Female characters are no longer underrepresented. In terms of gender discourses, Fairclough's critical discourse analysis (CDA) is used to observe the gender power relations in the narratives of the seven Grade 3 e-chapbooks. All seven e-chapbooks at RR level 22 exhibit different levels of influence from feminism

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Anna Wing Bo TSO. Gendered Discourses in Grade 3 English eBooks on a Digital Library Platform[J]. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2024, 33(1): 37-52

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