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Introduction
As someone who has always believed that literature shapes how students see both themselves and others, I wanted to explore whether classroom texts mirror the cultural, racial, and demographic makeup of schools, districts, and classrooms as a whole. My research compares the diversity represented in the literature taught in 5th-grade classrooms to the diversity of the classroom, school, and district as a whole. I am hoping to receive as many responses from 5th-grade teachers regarding their classroom diversity, the books they teach, and their goals for their students, about the takeaways from the books. his project has quickly become more than just a data collection process, it has turned into a deeper look at how educators think about representation, identity, and impact in their classrooms.
Progress
Progress
One of the biggest milestones in my research so far has been organizing and managing incoming data in a way that protects anonymity while still allowing for meaningful analysis. As responses came in through my Google Form, I assigned each school a unique number and each district a unique letter. This system ensured that every response had a distinct code, allowing me to track patterns without identifying individual schools or teachers.
Another major step forward was categorizing the books shared by educators. For each text, I identified overarching summaries and central themes, which allowed me to begin analyzing how diversity is represented not just demographically, but thematically as well. Seeing this information laid out in an organized spreadsheet helped transform what initially felt like scattered responses into a structured dataset.
Thoughts
One of the biggest challenges I encountered was the sheer volume of information. As responses continued to come in, the spreadsheet became increasingly dense, and at times, overwhelming to navigate. It was difficult not to feel lost when looking at rows and columns filled with data, themes, and notes.
To address this, I broke the work into smaller, more manageable steps, organizing data first, then categorizing themes, and finally stepping back to look for trends. Instead of trying to analyze everything at once, I focused on understanding one section at a time. This approach not only made the work more manageable, but also improved the quality of my analysis.
One of the most intriguing findings so far has been how teachers value representation in the books they choose to teach. I was genuinely surprised, and encouraged, by how many educators emphasized the importance of cultural and demographic representation. Nearly half of respondents identified representation as very important, while the remaining teachers still acknowledged that it holds meaningful weight in their curriculum decisions.
Beyond the numbers, what stood out most were the written responses. Reading teachers’ reflections on their goals for students revealed a shared hope: that literature can foster empathy, understanding, and a sense of belonging. These qualitative responses added depth to the data and reminded me that behind every statistic is an educator making intentional choices for their students.
Reflection: Looking Ahead
Looking back, this phase of the research has taught me just as much about myself as it has about my topic. I have learned how to manage complex data, adapt when things feel overwhelming, and trust the process even when the spreadsheet looks intimidating. Most importantly, I’ve learned the value of patience and organization in research.
This project has reinforced my belief that representation in literature matters, and that many educators are actively thinking about how their choices impact students. As I move forward, I’m excited to continue analyzing patterns and exploring what these findings might mean for curriculum decisions and educational equity.
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