Using 18 weeks of classroom data from a much larger ethnographic study, Kirkland examines the reading ideologies influencing the literacy engagement of a young Black male, Derrick. (To protect participants' identities, this article uses pseudonyms in place of participants' actual names.) In doing so, Kirkland theorizes about how young Black males…

Lack of reading motivation impedes upper elementary and secondary school students' willingness to improve critical reading skills and strategies to be successful in school. Struggling readers often show a negative attitude towards reading tasks and manifest low motivation to read. Although the importance of motivation is clear, there is limited…

Lack of reading motivation impedes upper elementary and secondary school students' willingness to improve critical reading skills and strategies to be successful in school. Struggling readers often show a negative attitude towards reading tasks and manifest low motivation to read. Although the importance of motivation is clear, there is limited…

The 160 third, seventh, and eleventh-graders involved in this study agreed, almost unanimously, that reading was "important." Participants cited the empowering benefits of reading as they justified this opinion. However, with regards to the enjoyment of reading, fewer middle and high school participants reported "liking"…

This article describes a pilot study conducted with 10 identified avid adolescent readers who completed the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile (AMRP) (Pitcher, Albright, DeLaney, Walker, Seunarienesingh, & Moggie, 2007) that includes both a survey to determine students' self-concept and value of reading and an interview that sheds light on what…

This study extended the research of Aiken (2006), which originally examined the reading motivation, attitudes, and habits for a cohort of 6th grade readers from an affluent suburban community. The purpose of this research was to investigate if the students' self-concepts as readers and values of reading have changed from their 6th grade year…