Supporting diversity: Picture books featuring same-gender parental families

This article is based on a small-scale qualitative study that explored children’s and teachers’ responses to a selection of picture books about family diversity. The picture books all featured same-gender parented families and are in keeping with Te Whāriki where it is maintained that children and their families should see their culture, values, and family diversity reflected in the curriculum in ECE settings. Findings show that children were more likely to talk about the everyday family life experiences, involving animals or children, pets and adventures, than the same-gender parents featured in the stories. Teachers enjoyed the opportunity to engage with the books and felt comfortable reading and discussing them with children. All children benefit from learning about diversity. Hence, it is anticipated that ECE teachers will be encouraged to add books with family diversity themes to their picture book collections after reading about this study.