Anne PoplinFollow

Date

12-2017

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Grania H. Holman

Keywords

Adolescent Literacy, Adolescent Readers, Reading Comprehension

Disciplines

Early Childhood Education | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Methods | Educational Psychology | Elementary Education

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experience of improvement in reading comprehension of adolescent readers who have made gains greater than what might be predicted based on previous growth in reading comprehension measures. These research questions guided this study: What influences have impacted the lived experiences of these improving readers? What barriers to reading improvement existed for these students? In addition, what school-related reading experiences, if any, hold meaning for these readers? What characteristics are shared among adolescent readers who have experienced better-than-expected growth? Interviews, story chart artifacts created by participants, and observations of students’ process and self-talk while reading short passages were collected from 12 students at Placid High School (pseudonym). Analysis was conducted using Hycner’s framework and hermeneutic analysis in order to discover the essence of these students’ experiences as improving readers. Methodologically, this study ascertained shared characteristics and experiences that influenced the reading comprehension growth of these adolescents through inductive study of all data. Four themes emerged through the data analysis: Reading as Provocation, Reading as Displacement, Reading as Relationship, and Reading as Confluence.

Download

Share

COinS