ERIC Number: EJ1234431
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Dec
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-5984
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Matching Students to Books: The Cultural Content of Eighth-Grade Literature Assignments
Northrop, Laura; Borsheim-Black, Carlin; Kelly, Sean
Elementary School Journal, v120 n2 p243-271 Dec 2019
This study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K), to examine the texts assigned to eighth-grade students. By comparing student demographic information from the ECLS-K with demographic information from the texts, we examine adjustment of assignments to match students' backgrounds. In addition to a list of the most frequently assigned texts in eighth grade, we found that the race/ethnic diversity of texts assigned to eighth graders in the mid-2000s did not match the diversity of the school-age population at that time. Considerable matching occurs in text assignments, such that minority students are in some cases substantially more likely to read texts with protagonists, and written by authors, that match their race/ethnicity.
Descriptors: Grade 8, Literature, Race, Ethnicity, Student Characteristics, Assignments, Cultural Pluralism, Minority Group Students, Children, Longitudinal Studies, Surveys, Correlation, Reading Lists
University of Chicago Press. Journals Division, P.O. Box 37005, Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: 877-705-1878; Tel: 773-753-3347; Fax: 877-705-1879; Fax: 773-753-0811; e-mail: subscriptions@press.uchicago.edu; Web site: http://www.press.uchicago.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 8; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A