“I Am a Reader”: A Mixed-Method Critical Race Theory Analysis of Black Adolescents’ Motivations to Read

• In Event: Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Literacy Inequities: Analysis of Diversity Discourse

Abstract

While important studies have reported on the reading dispositions and book preferences of White or Latino/a middle school students, few studies have focused explicitly on the attitudes, motivations, and reading preferences of Black adolescents. Yet Black adolescents are continually vilified in current educational discourses about reading achievement.
In this paper, we describe findings from an ongoing mixed-methods study to examine the attitudes, motivations, and reading preferences of 15 Black middle school-aged adolescents, grades 6-7, who participated in an Afro-centric summer literacy enrichment program, Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools®. We administered the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile (AMRP) survey to program participants and interviewed each participant. Findings from survey data analysis, and common themes found across the interview data are shared.

Authors

• Ann M. Bennett, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

• Susan L. Groenke, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville