List Books » Understanding Storytelling among African American Children: A Journey from Africa to America
Authors: Tempii B. Champion
ISBN-13: 9780805834079, ISBN-10: 0805834079
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Inc.
Date Published: December 2002
Edition: 1st Edition
Understanding Storytelling Among African American Children: A Journey From Africa to America reports research on narrative production among African American children for the purpose of extending previous inquiry and discussion of narrative structure. Some researchers have focused on the influence of culture on the narrative structures employed by African American children; some have suggested that their narrative structures are strongly influenced by home culture; others posit that African American children, like children in general, produce narrative structures typically found in school settings. Dr. Champion contributes to previous research by suggesting that African American children do not produce one structure of narratives exclusively, but rather a repertoire of structures, some linked to African and African American, and others to European American narrative structures. Detailed analyses of narratives using both psychological text analysis and qualitative analysis are presented.
An informative introduction provides background for the study, including a history of storytelling within the African American community. Part I offers a framework for understanding narrative structures among African American children. In Part II, evidence is presented that African American children produce a repertoire of narrative structures that are complex in nature. Part III connects the research findings to implications for educating African American children. Researchers, students, and professionals in the fields of literacy education, language development, African American studies, and communication sciences and disorders will find this book particularly relevant and useful.
Preface | ||
Acknowledgments | ||
Ch. 1 | Tell Me Somethin' Good: Storytelling From Africa to America | 1 |
History of Storytelling Within the African American Community | 1 | |
African to African American | 5 | |
African American English Language Studies | 6 | |
Narrative Analysis | 6 | |
Ch. 2 | Research on Narrative Structures Among African Americans and West Africans | 10 |
Research on Narrative Production Among African American Children | 10 | |
Discourse Strategies within the African American Community | 19 | |
Narrative Strategies Within West Africa | 21 | |
Purpose of Storytelling in West Africa | 25 | |
Ch. 3 | Extending the Research: A Study of Narrative Production Among African American Children | 28 |
Data Transcription, and Reliability | 34 | |
Narrative Data Collection Process | 35 | |
Data Analysis | 36 | |
Evaluative Analysis | 36 | |
Episodic Analysis | 38 | |
Thematic Analysis | 39 | |
Sociolinguistic Analysis | 39 | |
Ch. 4 | Evaluative Narratives | 43 |
Overall Production of Structures | 44 | |
Patterns Within Age Groups | 49 | |
Elements Within Narrative Structure | 50 | |
Summary of Evaluative Results | 51 | |
Ch. 5 | Episodic Narratives | 52 |
Overall Production of Structures | 52 | |
Patterns Within Groups | 56 | |
Summary of Episodic Analysis | 58 | |
Ch. 6 | Moral Centered Narratives | 59 |
Ch. 7 | Performative Narratives | 69 |
Ch. 8 | Implications for Educating African American Students | 87 |
Findings of the study | 87 | |
Relevance and Educational Implications | 88 | |
Home-School Mismatch | 88 | |
Teacher expectations | 89 | |
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy | 90 | |
Examples of Narrative Instruction | 91 | |
Directions for Future Research | 96 | |
Conclusion | 96 | |
App. A | Narratives by Participant | 97 |
App. B | Linguistic Features of African American English | 109 |
Vocabulary | 113 | |
Bibliography | 115 | |
Author Index | 128 | |
Subject Index | 134 |