This dissertation investigates the efficacy of LitFit, an innovative reading workshop program, in enhancing the reading skills and habits of male high school students in a rural setting. The study addresses the critical issue of lower reading proficiency among male students, a demographic that has historically received limited attention in English…

Teaching topics on Indigenous people and culture can be challenging for educators in K-12 classrooms for a multitude of reasons. This dissertation examines the epistemological complexities that teaching Indigenous identity, cultural teachings, and futurities are met with in mainstream classrooms. In the early chapters, I spend time describing what…

African American males often struggle with reading motivation and reading achievement. The problem addressed in this research study was that low reading motivation in African American males is associated with low scoring on standardized and summative reading assessments. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the reading…

The ability to read and understand texts are important to student's success in school and life. However, many secondary students enter without the skills needed to handle the rigor and amount of reading they will meet as they matriculate high school. Yet, this is not the case for those who struggle to read most. Allington (2013) found that…

Motivation and engagement are often barriers to literacy for adolescent readers. Traditionally, the graphic novel has been seen as easy to read and a resource that only has value for students with language difficulties or learning challenges. This qualitative case study investigated how middle school readers' ability to make meaning contributed to…

When English Language Arts (ELA) students are not engaged in ELA coursework, they miss out on opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking, listening, and--most importantly--critical thinking. The purpose of these two cycles of Action Research was to investigate the authentic pedagogies of ELA teachers at Ryken private preparatory school…

Despite the importance of encouraging the development of recreational reading habits in secondary students, there is considerable evidence that many secondary schools implement instructional practices that negatively shape literary experiences. This study examined the recreational reading habits of secondary education majors, their knowledge of…

This qualitative dominant mixed-methods study explored reading motivation among high school English learners whose first language was Spanish. Latina/o English learners (N = 87) from four southeastern, suburban high schools took part. The study utilized survey data to test for significant differences across demographic sectors and to group…

This doctoral study examined the relationship between middle school students' reading experiences and behaviors, reader self-perceptions, and reading achievement. This study also explored whether or not the characteristics of middle school readers differ because of gender or ethnicity. Participants attended a rural middle school, grades six…

Over the last four years, East Coast High (a pseudonym), a midsized high school on the East Coast, has failed to meet adequate yearly progress targets in reading as set forth by the Department of Education (DOE) in response to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Each year, many students at East Coast High entered the library and chose a book they…

For many high school students, being "not a reader" means lack of engagement in school-based literacy activities, including reading and writing, and a subsequent lack of academic success. Most importantly, the "not a reader" identity often comes with a particular understanding of reading, one that is limited to information…

This study examines the reading lives of three adolescent male students who struggle in reading. The three students identified for this study are students who failed to meet the academic criteria for promotion from grade eight to grade nine as defined by the 2011 Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAKS) and were placed in grade nine by a school…

Throughout the United States, school districts are integrating programs into their reading curricula in response to an increased focus on reading achievement. While many school districts are implementing successful remedial and after-school programs, their approach does not include providing literacy instruction for students during summer…

National concern about the reading proficiency of adolescents and the alarming statistics on the literacy achievement of African American males have created much interest in the topic of "motivated literacy" for researchers, policy makers, and educators. African American twelfth graders perform at the same level in reading as White…

Throughout the history of education, it has been noted that teachers are influential people in lives of children (Applegate & Applegate, 2004; Daisey, 2010; Gambrell, 1996; Ruddell, 1995). Children spend one-third (or more) of the day with teachers; and as they enter into adolescence, children come in contact with more and more teachers during…