NCJ Number
141066
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Education Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (Fall 1992) Pages: 251-260
Date Published
1992
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The photographs included in 22 introductory textbooks in criminal justice in 1989 were examined to determine their representation of blacks and women.
Abstract
Photographs were chosen for analysis because of the documented effect of visuals on human understanding and the development of beliefs and attitudes and the research suggestion that visuals are the most important element if additional processing of textual material does not occur. The analysis focused on the portrayal of females and blacks in comparison to their white male counterparts to determine whether the books promote a positive identity and equitable representation of blacks and females and whether representation of these groups accurately reflects numbers currently employed in the field. Findings revealed that men wrote 20 of the textbooks, a woman wrote 1 book, and 1 was written by 2 males and 1 female. The books contained 11,204 pages of narrative and 1,313 photographs showing people. Women and blacks were underrepresented as authorities, women were overrepresented as victims, and blacks were overrepresented as offenders. Thus, the textbooks reflected extreme white male dominance and fail to represent the growing diversity of the criminal justice field. Findings also support the contention that the textbooks contribute to the negative climate for blacks and females in the introductory classes that use the books. Tables, appended list of textbooks, and 27 references