Transcript IdaNov2005 - University of Michigan

An Examination of the Social and
Cultural Influences on Adolescent
Literacy Development
Elizabeth Birr Moje
Jacquelynne Eccles
Helen Watt
Paul Richardson
Oksana Malunchuk
Melanie Overby
Tehani Collazo
University of Michigan
Literacy Model
Word knowledge, vocabulary
knowledge, background
knowledge, linguistic/textual
knowledge, strategy use,
inference-making abilities,
motivation, identity
Text structure,
vocabulary, print
style and font,
discourse, genre,
register
Reader
Text
Broader
Context
Broader
Context
Context
Environment, purpose, social
relations, cultural norms
(e.g., schools, families, peer
groups, academic content areas)
Cultural models,
institutional practices,
sociopolitical regimes,
etc.
Surveys, SS Interviews,
Ethnographic Interviews,
Observations, Time Diaries,
Artifacts, Text Analyses
Literacy Practices
In Contexts
Surveys, SS Interviews,
Observations, Time Diaries
Motivation in Contexts
Examination of
Social and Cultural Influences on
Adolescent Literacy Development
Literacy Skills
in Contexts
Assessments, Interviews,
Observations, Text
Analyses
Transfer Across
Contexts
Experimental tasks,
observations, interviews,
artifacts
Samples
 Secondary Analyses
 Michigan Study of Adolescent and Adult Life
Transitions (MSALT)
 Childhood and Beyond (CAB)
 Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study
(MADICS)
 Panel Study on Income Dynamics-Child Development
Supplement (PSID-CDS)
 Primary Analyses
 Southwest Detroit Study (SDS)
• Approx. 750 6, 8, and 9th grade students (followed each year
for 4 years) in 3 public schools and 1 private school**
• Subsamples (from 30-100 youth) studied via daily diaries,
semi-structured interviews, reading and writing process
interviews, and on-going ethnography
Data collection/analyses to date
 Surveyed ~200 6th & 8th –graders; ~100 9th –graders in southwest
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Detroit
Ethnographic primary data collection in and out of schools
Mixed-methods secondary data analyses of the stability and role
of voluntary reading through adolescence in relation to postsecondary educational participation (MADICS data)
Quantitative analysis of relationship between literate activity and
postsecondary achievement, civic engagement, and
psychological adjustment (MADICS data)
Initial analyses of southwest Detroit data
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Cluster analyses of activity engagement out of school
Factor analyses of types of texts read
Qualitative content analyses of nominated texts
Cluster analyses of ethnic identity and relation to text choices
Initial coding of reading diagnostic data
 Quantitative analysis of PSID-CDS data on relationship between
time spent reading, value of reading in school, and reading
achievement
Findings PGC: Voluntary Reading and PostSecondary Educational Participation
 Voluntary reading in early adolescence has
benefits (over and above reading ability) for level of
postsecondary educational participation 7 years
later
 Girls read more than boys in early adolescence
(but not later)
 European Americans read more than African
Americans in this sample, although this difference
was fully mediated by higher reading scores for EA
(as measured by CAT reading in grade 5)
 Voluntary reading serves a variety of purposes and
has affects on identity development beyond those
documented in survey and achievement measures
Findings: Detroit Survey and Ethnographic
Analyses
 Participants’ responses to reading reflect an
intersection of ethnicity, experiences as urban
dwellers, and relationships
When asked explicitly about their reading choices, the
youth talk overwhelmingly about the books being
“real” or “teaching you things.”
 The young women in the sample tend to read books,
particularly literary texts, and the young men tend to
read informational text, particularly Internet texts
and/or print magazines.

77% of survey respondents nominated a favorite book by
name (n = 251)
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The young women have increased book reading over
time/development.
Findings: Ethnographic Primary Analyses
Exemplar: Popular cultural texts
The Homies are a group of tightly knit Chicano
buddies who have grown up in the Mexican
American barrio (neighborhood ) of "Quien Sabe,”
(who knows ) located in East Los Angeles. The four
main characters are Hollywood, Smiley, Pelon, and
Bobby Loco.
Their separate and distinct personalities and
characteristics together make up a single, composite
entity that is the "HOMIES." In an inner-city world
plagued by poverty, oppression, violence, and drugs,
the Homies have formed a strong and binding
cultural support system that enables them to
overcome the surrounding negativity and allows for
laughter and good times as an anecdote for reality.
The word "Homies" itself is a popular street term
that refers to someone from your hometown or, in a
broader sense, anyone that you would acknowledge
as your friend. In use in the West Coast Latino
community for decades, the word "Homies" has
crossed over into the now mainstream Hip-Hop
street culture that has taken America's young people
by storm.
-Dave Gonzales [creator of Homies]
o01j watch TV
o01t do homework
o01c talk on the phone
o01a hang out with friends
o01n do hobbies
o01d do outdoor activities
o01v do chores at home
o01b family activities (watch tv, play games, go places)
o01e play sports
o01i play video or computer games
o01l do art or drawing
o01k play or sing music (band, choir, play instrument)
o01h write email or chat on Internet
o01f write for pleasure
o01g read for pleasure
o01s learn a language
o01r go to religious activities
o01u work for pay away from home
o01o do drama or dance
o01m do math/science activities for fun
o01p participate in school clubs
o01w do volunteer or community service
o01q do activities at a community center
grade 6
grade 8
grade 9
1
2
3
4
5
mean frequency outside school last month
6
7
Cluster 1
Cluster 2
Cluster 3
o01w do volunteer or community service*
o01v do chores at home
o01u work for pay away from home*
o01t do homework*
o01s learn a language*
o01r go to religious activities*
o01q do activities at a community center*
o01p participate in school clubs*
o01o do drama or dance*
o01n do hobbies*
o01m do math/science activities for fun*
o01l do art or drawing*
o01k play or sing music (band, choir, play instrument)*
o01j watch TV
o01i play video or computer games
o01h write email or chat on Internet*
o01g read for pleasure*
o01f write for pleasure*
o01e play sports
o01d do outdoor activities*
o01c talk on the phone*
o01b family activities (watch tv, play games, go places)
o01a hang out with friends*
Cluster Means
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
HR Cluster1 (mid)
HRCluster2 (high)
HR Cluster3 (low)
EW Cluster1 (low)
reading and writing outside school
EW Cluster2 (high)
o19k Journal, diary, activity log
o19j Comics
o19i Graffitti or tagging on paper
o19h Directions on how to get somewhere
o19g Music lyrics (words to music)
o19f Instructions on how to do something
o19e Grocery/shopping list
o19d Stories
o19c Poetry
o19b Letters or notes to other people
o19a Email, chat, shout-outs, blogs
o07p Catalogs
o07o Maps, bus, airline, or train schedules
o07n Instruction manuals, cookbooks, sewing patterns
o07m Research papers, reports, graphs, charts, tables
o07l Biographies, autobiographies
o07k Newspaper articles
o07j Music Lyrics
o07i Websites
o07h Magazines
o07g Comic books
o07f Religious books (Bible, Koran, Catechism, Torah)
o07e Poetry
o07d Information books (science, nature, history)
o07c Novels, short stories, picture books, plays
o07b Email
o07a Letters, notes from other people
cluster means
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Conclusions and On-Going Analyses:
 Young people in the community are reading, but
how much, how often, in what depth?
 Increased book reading among girls needs to be
studied in a normative sample: Is this a trend
among a small number of girls?
 Boys reading informational texts; again, is this
normative?
 How difficult are these texts? (e.g., vocabulary
load, linguistic structures, etc.)
 What do they “get” from what they read?
What are students learning from these texts?
 How are texts shaping identities as readers, writers,
students?
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