Making the road by walking: The transition from content area literacy to adolescent literacy
Abstract
The past few years have witnessed a shift in both terminology and ideology of studies and practices of literacy and adolescents. Until recently, all such endeavors fell under the monikers of secondary reading and content area reading. However, the use of the term, adolescent literacy, marks not only a shift in term but also a purposeful change in framework and ideology. This manuscript explores the complexities of plotting this transition through the content of a preservice university class on content area literacy. The course instructor/researcher asked students in the class to consider the traditional topics, pedagogy, and curricula of content area literacy against the broader backdrop of adolescent literacy. The online discussions of students served as data for analyzing the complexities in secondary schooling, societal discourses about adolescents, and teaching and learning. The analysis of these discussions is then compared to work in adolescent literacy in Australia. Implications address the need to examine potential barriers and benefits of reconceptualizing the content, format, and placement of courses that currently cover secondary and/or content area literacy.
Reference
Stevens, L. (2002). Making the road by walking: The transition from content area literacy to adolescent literacy. Reading Research and Instruction, 41(3), 267-277. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19388070209558370
Journal
Reading Research and Instruction
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
- Southwestern United States
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- Content area literacy course
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
24
Other Participant Data
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Audio recordings
- fieldnotes
- online discussions
Data Analysis Tools
- Constant comparative analysis
- Discourse analysis (conversational analysis)
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
"What does the term adolescent literacy imply that secondary and/or content area literacy does not?" (p. 269)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
"What role should digital literacies play in the lives of adolescents and in teachers?" (p. 269)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
"What discourses surround teaching adolescents that provide and restrict opportunities for adolescents?" (p. 269)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes