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theses

Currently, approximately one in five students in the United States is Latino, and it is predicted that by the year 2025 more than 28% of school-aged children will be of Latino descent (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). This is a growing demographic, yet the number of Latino males who are predicted to drop out of high school is higher than any group in the United States (Podsiadillo & Philliber, 2003). Additionally, as a group, they are not being recommended for honors classes or earning high grades in language arts class, or scoring at advanced proficiency level on state tests. This is especially problematic in middle school because students at this level are required to read higher-level texts across the curriculum. Moreover, while the Latino student population is growing in the United States, there is a lack of empirical studies about these students, particularly at the middle school level. It is imperative to add to the knowledge base of this multi-faceted group of students since they are underrepresented in research and, consequently, methodologies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine both the in-school and out-of-school literacy practices of two Latino eighth graders: observing and analyzing a Latino adolescent low-achieving student’s literacy experience in comparison to a high-achieving Latino adolescent student at the same middle school and socio-economic level. The overarching research questions are: How do two adolescent Latino male students, one high-achieving and one low achieving, experience literacy in a language arts class? What role does literacy play in their lives outside of school? The sub-questions are: (1) What are students doing during language arts class? (2)What out-of-school literacies does each child participate in? (3) What is the nature of their home lives? This 16-week comparative case study utilized semi-structured parent and student interviews, peer and sibling interviews, classroom observations, documents and home visits as main sources of data collection. Findings indicated that boys preferred to read fiction and nonfiction books based on their choice and interests (Smith & Wilhelm, 2002) in language arts. The high achieving student assumed traditional behaviors that are aligned with being a student in class. The low achieving took on behaviors that were traditionally considered off task. Furthermore, the high achieving student had a mentor who supported his in and out-of-school literacies whereas the low achieving student did not. Both families value education and view it as a gateway to success in the United States. Both participants engaged in “non traditional school text” (video games, Mangas, online forums, & sports magazines) during their out-of-school time. This study transcends the deficit model, which often focuses only on the failure of Latinos on standardized tests. Instead, the subjects' full literacy lives are evaluated and analyzed, with the goal of more fully comprehending middle school Latino boys beyond test scores and deficits.

ETD_6286

Ed.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Carmen Gordillo

doi:10.7282/T3GX4DC5

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.