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Dissertation Information for Jenny B. Petty

NAME:
- Jenny B. Petty

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Texas Woman's University (USA) (1993)

ADVISORS:
- Adeline Wood Wilkes

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Betty Carter
- Joyce Elayne Williams

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Promoting cultural awareness: An analysis of the involvement of Arkansas elementary school librarians

Abstract: Although ethnic diversity has existed in America throughout known history, its recognition was not encouraged until the racial unrest of the 1960s and 1970s aroused interest in the promotion of cultural heritage. As the movement to generate acceptance and appreciation of ethnic and cultural heritage gained momentum in the 1980s, educational leaders initiated programs to facilitate such expression, and the multicultural education movement was born. One such program, Multicultural Reading and Thinking (McRAT), that originated in Arkansas in 1985 was designed to promote cultural awareness and critical thinking through reading. School librarians became involved in McRAT projects, in other cooperative cultural awareness ventures with teachers, and in cultural awareness activities they created themselves. This study examines the level of involvement of Arkansas elementary school librarians in each of these distinct, yet connected, areas.

A thirty-item questionnaire, sent to all 601 Arkansas elementary school librarians solicited demographic information about the diversity and size of the school population, and about cultural awareness programs and activities in each school. Demographic data from the questionnaire was compared with enrollment data provided by the State Department of Education. Frequency counts and crosstabulations of survey data from the 409 (68%) completed questionnaires supplied answers to research questions concerning the ethnicity of Arkansas elementary school students, teachers, and librarians, and the involvement of librarians in cultural awareness programs. The study indicates that 51.7% of Arkansas elementary school students live in rural areas; that statewide, white students outnumber African American students 3 to 1; and, that the numbers of Asian, Hispanic, and Native American students total less than 5000. One hundred ninety-seven (48.2%) of the reporting librarians indicate they initiate cultural awareness programs or activities that are designed to go beyond selecting books and reading stories. In many schools they are the leaders in the multicultural education movement.

MPACT Scores for Jenny B. Petty

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:12:42

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