Fit for purpose: Exploring emergent readers’ categorisation of visual information using the repertory grid technique

Abstract

This study provides insights into how emergent readers categorise visual content relevant to picture storybooks. While natural categorisation is a well-established area of psychological research, this study focuses on the practical educational challenge of how children’s librarians, early childhood educators, and parents can identify the most “fit for purpose”—that is, meaningful, appropriate, motivating, and relevant—sources of information to support children’s learning. Semi-structured interviews and repertory grid techniques were employed to identify the schematic constructs applied by 5- and 6-year-old children when interpreting visual images. A total of 111 children participated in the study. The majority identified and used schema categories such as live animals, community jobs, dinosaurs, superheroes and robots, buildings, vehicles, Pokémon, and princesses. Additionally, most participants applied a range of commonly recognised action schemes, including connecting, positioning, rotation, trajectories, and transporting. By adopting a radical child-centred approach, this study contributes to the categorisation of children’s library resources, particularly picture storybooks for emergent readers. The findings have the potential to support early childhood education for sustainable citizenship, a global objective aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 4: Quality education.