Folklore and Education Section Now Accepting Applications for Dorothy Howard Prize

The Folklore and Education Section has announced the opening of applications for the Dorothy Howard Folklore and Education Prize. The prize deadline is September 20, 2021 and the section requests all applications come through AFS’ prize submission form.

The prize competition is open to individuals and organizations whose work effectively encourages educators or students to use the study of folklore and folkloristic approaches in all educational environments, including k-16 classrooms, after-school programming, museums, community agencies, etc. Such works include but are not limited to: curriculum materials, publications, audio and video recordings, multimedia publications, web sites, and exhibits.

Submissions must reflect projects that have been implemented within the past two years prior to the application deadline. If your project is ongoing or part of a larger multi-year educational effort, please submit the portion of the project that is most current (i.e., implemented within the last year) for the committee’s consideration.

Nominations should:

• Include the author(s) or creator(s), publisher, and date of use/publication, along with a short statement of the project.
• Describe how the project significantly adds to the body of folklore and education literature and/or resources.
• Specify the intended audience and appropriateness of the program for that age group and subject focus.
• Describe how the project engages with the intended audience.
• Specify how the project interfaces with and supports educational priorities, teaching practices, and student learning.
• Include the project resource materials. If the project includes a print or hard-copy publication, please include three copies. If the project is a web resource or e-book, or includes audio/visual recordings available online, please include working links to all resources. In the case of particularly extensive materials (i.e. multimedia kits), a single copy may be submitted.

Dorothy Howard (1902-1996) grew up in the Progressive Era, receiving a teaching degree from the North Texas Normal College (now the University of North Texas) in 1923. During her career as a teacher and principal in Texas, New York, and New Jersey, Howard integrated folklore into her curriculum by having students collect and study playground chants and jingles as a way of introducing them to poetry; research their names and their meanings to study spelling; and write about such traditions as ravioli making to develop their writing skills.

Howard’s interest in children’s folklore and education enabled her to bridge a gap between the Victorian “armchair” approach to the study of children’s culture with the field-based studies that folklorists conduct today. In 1938 she received her doctorate in education with a study of games that combined these two styles of study. Her pioneering work inspires us to use folklore in educational settings in a way that is rich and meaningful. The Dorothy Howard Prize honors Howard and those who have followed her lead in folklore and education, both within and outside the classroom.