Black men on a national level have historically demonstrated their inability to read at the appropriate grade level (Tatum, 2015). Upon a closer analysis of this phenomenon, Washington (1998) posits that attitude has a profound effect on literacy rates because it has the power to cause Black men to either be drawn to literature or avoid it.…

Reading fluency and comprehension are necessary to successfully function in school, work, and society. A 2015 study by the National Center for Educational Statistics indicates that the dropout rate for African American males is significantly higher than the national overall dropout rate. Since proficiency in reading strongly correlates with high…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a collaborative inquiry group of middle school ELA teachers who were utilizing the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) framework to create a virtual library of e-books, examine students' reading motivation data, and implement classroom practices intended to increase student reading value, motivation,…

This intervention mixed methods study used a quasi-experimental design to investigate the effects of an after-school book club on third-grade boys' reading achievement, attitudes, and preferences. During the 2015-2016 school year, seven third-grade boys from a South Texas elementary school attended an after-school book club in their school library…

African American male students are performing on a lower level than their peers. The purpose of this study was to identify the interests, attitudes, and beliefs of 5th grade African American boys regarding reading. Examining this aspect from the perspective of the student provided insight as to why African American boys' reading assessment…

Using a correlational research design, this dissertation sought to examine the variables--self-efficacy, motivation, reading attitude, and gender--which could serve as a predictors for reading achievement with a purposive sample of 81 African-American 5th grade males attending two elementary schools in North Texas. Using a bivariate correlation,…

The purpose of this study was to examine what information third-grade boys attending school in three rural school districts might contribute to current understanding about what motivates boys to engage in reading. A multi-method, multi-sensory Mosaic Approach was used to explore, record, and interpret the voices of the 14 boys with varying levels…

The purpose of this mixed research design study was to examine how teachers in a large urban Midwestern district used Thinking Maps® with students in elementary school general education and special education classrooms. In addition, this study examined the use of Thinking Maps® with 30 urban elementary school males in two schools: one second…