The effect of picture books presented with the shared reading method on gender stereotype levels in preschool children

This research aimed to examine the effects of children's picture books, presented through the shared reading method, which do not contain gender stereotypes but promote elements of gender equality, on the gender stereotype levels of preschool children. This research used a pre-test/post-test control group design among other semi-experimental research designs. The research sample consisted of 40 children, aged between 48- 72 months, who attended preschool education institutions affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Gaziantep. 'Demographic Information Form' and 'Gender Stereotype Assessment Tool' were used to collect data. This research consists of two steps. The books to be used in the application were determined in the first step. While deciding on the books, firstly, attention was paid to the internal and external structural features of children's picture books, ensuring they did not include gender stereotypes in terms of expressions, domestic and occupational roles, actions, etc. A total of 15 children's picture books that do not contain gender stereotypes were chosen. The selected children's picture books were presented to the experimental group with the share reading method, two days a week, over an eight-week period. The data obtained from the research was analyzed using ANCOVA and Paired T-tests. A significant difference was found in favor of the experimental group considering the ANCOVA test results for the 'gender stereotypes assessment tool' post-test scores of the experimental and control groups (p=0.00). In light of these findings, it was concluded that the children's picture books that contain gender equality but not gender stereotypes were influential on the gender stereotype levels of preschool children. To identify whether the effect of shared reading applications on children's gender stereotypes was permanent, a paired t-test was conducted between the experimental group's post-test scores obtained from the "gender stereotype assessment tool" and their retention test scores, and no significant difference was found (p=.237). This proves that the effects of the activities performed on the experimental group were permanent. Keywords: Social gender, stereotype, preschool, shared reading