Gender is ever present in education preparation, school materials, curriculum, and school systems. To improve our knowledge about different facets of gender and the extent to which the depiction of gender has changed over time in picture books, there is a need to dig beneath the surface of questions about gender representation in picture books. Given that in-service teachers have proximity to approximately 75 million K-12 students, how in-service teachers think about gender, gender representation, and their own experiences with gender socialization have important implications on how K-12 students think, act, and feel about gender. In this study, we focused on teachers’ responses to a semester-long assignment about the selection and review of picture books. Specifically, we captured teachers’ perceptions on gendered images evidenced in picture books and to what extent there are changes (i.e., economical, emotional, physical, political, and social) in the central character throughout the book. We also explored if perceived changes were different based on the gender of the characters. Teachers reported four types of changes among the characters in the picture book. Emotionally changes in the books’ central characters emerged as the most commonly reported change among our participants.

This paper explores the potential of Eye Movement Miscue Analysis (EMMA) as a method to evaluate the complexity of picturebooks as reading material for primary school children. While EMMA has been applied to examine reading processes and strategies, this paper reports on the first study using EMMA to examine classroom picturebook complexity and its implications for developing readers. This research found EMMA method revealed specific nuances for understanding children’s reading practices in response to the complexity of the text at hand. Drawing together an internationally established reading teaching resource, the text complexity guide (Pinnell & Fountas, 2007) with miscue analysis reading assessment and eye movement technology, this research sought to gain insights into potential areas of complexity or challenge in picturebooks commonly available in Australian school libraries and classrooms. The method shared here examines text complexity ratings, children’s reading performance, and eye movements, as they read in natural classroom settings. Analysis of children’s reading miscues revealed that readers encountered challenges not anticipated through the use of the text complexity guide. Argued in this paper is that EMMA methodologies could extend understandings about text complexity beyond established frameworks and hence guide future assessments.