A Study In The Evaluation Of Chicano Adolescent Literature

• Main Author: Flores, Juan Manuel
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1983
• Subjects: Education
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/3040; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4039&context=uop_etds

The primary concern of this study was to determine if there were significant differences in the way that selected samples of Chicano adolescent literature were perceived by a sample of Chicano adolescents and a panel of professional librarians. The study investigated the current process of evaluating Chicano adolescent literature and if librarians have been successful in selecting literature for Chicano adolescent readers. The sources of data consisted of three Chicano adolescent books that were selected by a panel of public school librarians through a questionnaire that was administered by the investigator. The literature evaluations were conducted using Osgood's Semantic Differential Scale (SDS) and the Council on Interracial Books for Children (CIBC) instrument for evaluating Chicano adolescent literature. The SDS was used by the Chicano adolescents and the librarians, and the CIBC instrument was used only by the panel of librarians. The sample consisted of 54 Chicano adolescent students. The panel of librarians consisted of ten librarians of the Fresno County Public Libraries System. The primary hypothesis was that there would be no significant difference in the perceptions of the Chicano adolescents and the librarians. This hypothesis was tested three different times for each of the three samples of literature. There were also composite evaluations of each book and an overall comparison of the three books. The t-test was used to identify significantly different evaluation scores between the Chicano adolescents and the librarians. Qualitative data were also collected using both the SDS and the CIBC instrument. The results showed no overall significant differences in the perceptions of Chicano adolescents and the librarians. However, some individual items indicated differences in their perceptions of authenticity and relevance. It appears from the study that librarians have been reasonably successful in selecting literature for Chicano adolescents. The qualitative analysis revealed a number of problems that were addressed separately in the study. Based on this analysis, the investigator made certain recommendations intended to improve librarian selection of reading materials for Chicano adolescents.