Representation in Engineering-Focused Children’s Literature: A Critical Content Analysis

Abstract Children’s picturebooks have long been understood as a powerful medium for exploring aspects of children’s lives, experiences, and identities serving as mirrors which allow children to see themselves reflected, as windows through which they can gain insight into the experiences of others, and as sliding glass doors when children are connected to the story and characters in meaningful ways. Utilizing a critical content analytic approach, this research examined the identity markers and engineering practices found in contemporary children’s picturebooks with an engineering focus. The analysis yielded key themes that highlight the ways children can interact and connect to the characters and engineering content through both visual imagery and storyline . As the reviewed books held limited social, cultural, and personal identity representations, study findings hold implications for early childhood educators as they highlight the importance of affirming and connecting engineering and design work to the diverse, multifaceted identities of the students in their classrooms. Recommendations from this research call for extending traditional classroom building and construction experiences through the inclusion of engineering-focused children’s literature to enhance and extend children’s understandings of design and engineering work.