Brenda K. Gorman|Christine E. Fiestas|Elizabeth D. Peña|Maya Reynolds Clark
Creative and Stylistic Devices Employed by Children During a Storybook Narrative Task: A Cross-Cultural Study
Marquette University|The University of Texas at Austin|The University of Texas at Austin|Armstrong Atlantic State University
purpose study analyze effects culture creative stylistic features children employ producing narratives based wordless picture booksparticipants included 60 first secondgrade african american latino american caucasian children subset narratives based wordless picture books collected part larger study coded analyzed following creative stylistic conventions organizational style topic centered linear cyclical dialogue direct indirect reference character relationships nature naming conduct embellishment fantasy suspense conflict paralinguistic devices expressive sounds exclamatory utterancesmany similarities differences ethnic groups found significant differences found ethnic groups organizational style use paralinguistic devices african american children included fantasy stories latino children named characters often caucasian children made references nature character relationshipseven within context highly structured narrative task based wordless picture books culture influences childrens production narratives enhanced understanding narrative structure creativity style necessary provide ecologically valid narrative assessment intervention children diverse cultural backgrounds