Representation, Engagement, and Agency for African American Students in Postsecondary Literacy Instruction: A Critical Qualitative Content Analysis of Current Developmental Reading Textbooks

Title	Representation, Engagement, and Agency for African American Students in Postsecondary Literacy Instruction: A Critical Qualitative Content Analysis of Current Developmental Reading Textbooks
Author	Williams, Jeanine Latoya
Advisors	Mallinson, Christine
Program	Literacy and Culture
UMBC Department	Language, Literacy & Culture (LLC)
Document Type	dissertation
Sponsors	University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).
Keywords	African American College Students; College Success and Persistence; Critical Literacy; Developmental Reading; Postsecondary Literacy Instruction; Qualitative Content Analysis
Date Issued	2010-01-01
Abstract	The impact of race and social class on African American students has major implications for developmental reading curriculum and instruction. Developmental reading courses, which are often gateway courses in higher education, must address issues of race and social class if they are to be successful in meeting the literacy needs of African American students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and thereby helping these students persist throughout their college careers. Using critical race theory, critical literacy and sociocultural theories of learning as a theoretical framework, this study investigates developmental reading curriculum and instruction, as exemplified by developmental reading textbooks, with the goal of determining how African Americans and their experiences are represented and framed in terms of race, social class and education. I conducted a critically conscious, qualitative content analysis of the reading selections and pedagogical techniques in a representative sample of five of the most recently published developmental reading textbooks. The content in the reading selections related to African Americans from the five textbooks cover four major themes pertaining to race, social class and education: racial inequality, Black-White relations, poverty and mobility, and educational disparity. While issues of race, social class and education are generally being addressed in these textbooks, the pedagogical techniques used in the textbooks do not always promote a critical examination of these issues in ways that are pivotal to students' success and persistence. Nevertheless, in comparison to previous studies of developmental reading textbook content and pedagogical techniques (e.g., Wood, 2003), there does appear to be some movement toward incorporating a sociocultural theoretical orientation and critical literacy pedagogy in developmental reading textbooks. This emerging trend has the potential to positively impact developmental reading classroom practice, which could lead to greater success and persistence among African American students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.
Identifier	10396
Format	application:pdf
Language	en
Collection	UMBC Thesis and Dissertations.
Rights Statement	This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. for permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu.
Source	Williams_umbc_0434D_10396.pdf

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Representation, Engagement, and Agency for African American Students in Postsecondary Literacy Instruction: A Critical Qualitative Content Analysis of Current Developmental Reading Textbooks

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