The outsiders of the American revolution: The selective tradition in children's fiction

From Reproduction to Transformation: recent radical perspectives on the curriculum from the USA

“…Thus the powerlessness of the working class, and of women and racial minorities, is not only reflected in the texts, it is also reinforced and added to. Other studies, such as Apple's own paper in his edited collection (Apple, 1982b) Taxel (1980Taxel ( , 1981 on children's novels, explore the ways in which various aspects of the form of teaching materials, as well as their content, may be seen to foster the process of reproduction. Such studies have helped to broaden the base of reproduction theories but also to point up their limitations.…”

From Rags to “Rich as Rockefeller”: Portrayals of Class Mobility in Newbery Titles

“…This study draws on two theoretical lenses: the sociology of school knowledge and critical literacy. The sociology of school knowledge is a framework for analyzing school practices and curricular materials (Taxel, ). Scholars of the sociology of school knowledge analyze the ways in which schools support the status quo, or the current social, political, and economic hierarchy, and consider what counts as “legitimate knowledge” (Apple & King, , p. 342).…”

“…Taxel () contended scholars should examine books for young people through this lens, arguing that such research would bring more attention to justice and equity issues in children's literature scholarship. In his own study of children's literature using the theory, Taxel () found evidence of a selective tradition, or bias against less‐powerful groups and people. African American characters in books set during Revolutionary times, for instance, were shown as passive figures unwilling to fight for their own liberty.…”

“…The sociology of school knowledge theory assumes that no text is neutral or free from its creator's perspective and biases. Rather, children's literature contains values and ideologies that could potentially influence how children develop their beliefs and worldviews (Kohl, ; Taxel, , ). Unpacking the assumptions in children's literature by examining books with a sociology of school knowledge lens could reveal what beliefs and ideals young people incorporate into their perceptions of the world.…”

(Re)Storying Obama: An Examination of Recently Published Informational Texts

“…For the past several decades, educational researchers have critically examined texts written for children, including textbooks (Apple and Christian-Smith, 1991;Luke et al, 1989;Williamson, 2006) and historical accounts (Kohl, 1995b;Taxel, 1981Taxel, , 1997Williamson, 2006), as well as changes in publishing industry decision-making as it relates to children's literature (Taxel, 2002). Researchers have looked at the ideological positions of texts (Baker, 2006;Jenkins, 2002;Lea, 2006;Travis, 2007) and demonstrated the complexity of authentic representation in multicultural texts (Fox and Short, 2003;Henderson, 2005;McNair, 2008;Tolson, 2005;Yokota and Bates, 2005).…”