Picturing Values: A Positive Discourse Analysis of Chinese and Australian Children’s Picturebooks and Children's Understanding of Values

Picturing Values: A Positive Discourse Analysis of Chinese and Australian Children’s Picturebooks and Children's Understanding of Values

This thesis discusses and compares the values of Australian and Chinese children’s picturebooks, as well as the children’s understanding of the values of picturebooks, through language and image analyses. The researcher, to date, found no cross-cultural studies compare the values between Australian children’s picturebooks and Chinese children’s picturebooks in relation to values, by conducting Schwartz’s refined values, appraisal resources or visual grammar in investigating children’s picturebooks and children’s understanding of values. Positive Discourse Analysis has been conducted as this thesis focuses on the positive significance of children’s picturebooks. Appraisal resources and the visual grammar as well as refined value model have been adopted to discuss values from the language and image of children’s picturebooks. Also, a case study has been conducted in Australia and China respectively to explore the Australian and Chinese children’s understanding of values during and/or after reading the picturebooks. This research develops the methodology of investigating children’s picturebooks and children’s understanding in relation to values. It also helps teachers/parents/caregivers to choose picturebooks for children and helps teachers/caregivers/parents become more aware of behaviours and language that may influence children’s values. Moreover, this research supports stakeholders to become more culturally aware and know more about different cultures, which would strengthen the curriculum and cultural development, and most significantly, eliminate discrimination.

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