Date of Award:

5-2026

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Committee Chair(s)

Amanda Deliman (Committee Chair), Marla Robertson (Committee Co-Chair)

Committee

Amanda Deliman

Committee

Marla Robertson

Committee

Emma Mecham

Committee

Rachel Turner

Committee

Amy Wilson

Abstract

Children are in school to acquire knowledge, so the books they read are a significant influence on how they see themselves and others. School curricula often lack diverse voices, which may limit students’ views of themselves and how they relate to their communities. The research objective of this study was to examine the potential for fostering empathy in students, to encourage societal benefits of positive community behaviors, deepen understanding of history, and future contributions to an engaged democratic society.

The problem identified was that although much research exists discussing children’s literature and empathy, little explores whether that empathy leads to action; further, few studies use an interdisciplinary approach. This research used a framework of learning theories, critical theories (race, disability, literacy, and queer), and curriculum theory to focus on picturebooks, empathy, and action. A third-grade classroom study explored two questions: (1) How does reading and critical discussion about diverse characters in children’s literature (personal narratives) influence a student’s empathy for people with some characteristics unlike themselves? and (2) After completing a unit relating to these characters, how do students demonstrate or not demonstrate an interest in taking action/making a difference in the community?

The curriculum study featuring a variety of characters and their experiences with family, race/ethnicity, and dis/ability found that students expressed empathy across all sources of data: surveys, teacher interviews, student interviews, read-aloud transcripts, and artifacts. Students demonstrated empathy by relating experiences of picturebook characters to their own lives, and by expressing interest in and concern for these characters. Participants in the read-aloud study articulated intentions to take action to help, befriend, and speak up for others in the community.

This significant new data shows the effective use of picturebooks in classrooms and adds new information to existing research with both quantitative and qualitative methods, more empirical data collection, a wider range of subject matter, and a longer study period than previously used. It provides a practical model for schools to readily implement improved curricula with little cost for materials and training.

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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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