Going Back to Black: Exploring Black Boys' Literacy Experiences and Achievement Outcomes

• In Event: "This Is How We Do It": Utilizing Critical Race Methodologies to Center Blackness in Educational Research

Abstract

While the amount of research studying Black boys and their reading experiences is vast, not enough literature highlights racial biases inherent in literacy instruction. Early research attributed the achievement deficit (Ladson-Billings, 2006) to cultural deficits, believing that minoritized students’ achievement level was a byproduct of cultural deficiencies that placed minority students at a disadvantage (Deutsch, 1963; Hess & Shipman, 1965). Some scholars have attributed the achievement gap to socio-economic factors that deprive certain students of resources needed to succeed in school (Magnuson & Duncan, 2006; Borman & Dowling, 2010), while others have identified the disparity in educational outcomes as a result of school segregation (Chetty, et al., 2015; Reardon, 2015; Wodtke, et al, 2011).

Author

• Mario Worlds, University of Florida