Values in children's literature: A descriptive content analysis of Beatrix Potter's '23 Tales for Children'

This descriptive study investigated what values, as analyzed by the definitions of the 18 instrumental values found in the Rokeach Value Survey, can be found in Beatrix Potter's 23 Tales for Children. Data were collected in two stages for this study. Each of the 23 Potter Tales for Children were analyzed independently by one rater: the researcher. Also, five of the Potter literature selections found to be most used by a selected number of teachers surveyed were analyzed by a group of volunteer teachers.;The data collected in the first stage of the study provided information concerning the values in all twenty-three of the Potter Tales for Children. Conclusions were drawn from the data that the identification of the overall most frequently tallied values by the researcher included: Logical, Helpful, Polite, and Capable.;The data collected in the second stage of the study provided information concerning the values present in five of the Potter 23 Tales for Children . Teachers identified: Capable, Self-Controlled, Loving, and Loyal as the most frequently sited values in these books.;The researcher and teachers found all eighteen values as defined by the eighteen instrumental values in the Rokeach Value Survey to be evident in the Beatrix Potter 23 Tales for Children yielding a positive answer to the research question. The researcher found all eighteen values on the Rokeach Value Survey evident in Beatrix Potter's 23 Tales for Children.;A comparison of the data collected by the researcher and of the data collected by the volunteer teachers yielded an overall agreement in one of the eighteen value categories: Courageous. There was overall disagreement between the researcher and teachers in one of the eighteen value categories: Logical.