Content uploaded by Margaret K. Merga
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Margaret K. Merga on Feb 02, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
Reading Aloud: Children's Attitudes toward being Read to at Home and at School
Abstract
Abstract: Whilst there exists a plethora of research about the benefits of reading aloud on children’s literacy development and a range of government reports highlighting the positive investment return on early intervention strategies such as reading aloud, most literature is presented from an adult perspective. Limited research exists on children’s attitudes toward being read to at home or school or the frequency of reading aloud practices that occur within these contexts. This mixed method study examines reading aloud practices in schools (N=21) and homes (N=220). It captures the attitude toward reading aloud practices from the viewpoint of 220 children aged between 6-12 years of age (Grade 1-6) across a representative range of diverse school contexts in Western Australian. The findings identify specific reading aloud practices, patterns of frequency and perceived barriers to reading aloud in the classroom and at home. The study provides support for the practice of reading aloud to be continued past the period of acquisition and independent reading. It raises concern about the low frequency of reading aloud practices at home and school and the early signs of a literacy. It also highlights the limited attention to affective domains of reading that occur in schools.
... In Western countries, in particular, families have at least some literacy practices of their own. According to Ledger and Merga (2018), almost all parents (98.7%) read aloud to their children at least occasionally. Previous research (Duursma et al., 2008) reveals that the support from families in establishing literacy practices is one of the most important aspects among high-risk children in low-income families, where there are parents with little education and who belong to a minority group. ...
... For example, certain parents struggle to find time for reading with their children and are unsure of how to create reading moments. This does not necessarily imply that parents do not regard reading positively (Ledger & Merga, 2018). Families are different, and there are varied reasons for the lack of literacy practises as well as literacy routines in certain families . ...
... Further, they may have had negative experiences of reading during their own childhood, may have reading disabilities, may be ignorant, or may be faced with a lack of reading materials (Khanolainen et al., 2020). Therefore, support from ECE and schools is crucial to developing family literacy practices; it is important to have agents who function as reading advocates and facilitators of read-aloud opportunities (Ledger & Merga, 2018). ...
In this article, we investigate a family literacy program called Bedtime Story Shelf, which is an application of lending libraries. In Bedtime Story Shelf-program the families are loaning books from ECE centers and schools to homes. In the study, we present parents’ prior (N = 122) on this program and its relation to families’ prior literacy practises. According to the results, almost all the families took advantage of the Bedtime Story Shelf-activity. However, about half of the families loaned books from the shelf more often. These families also evaluated the activity as more meaningful. They felt that loaning libraries enabled them to expand their knowledge of children’s books and made the children more active in family literacy events. These positive effects did not depend on the prior literacy practises of the family. This means that if we get the families involved in family literacy programs of ECEs and schools, they will find them beneficial. According to the study, one of the key objectives would be motivating the children and involving the parents. Furthermore, the educators should be active and flexible in their attempts to involve all the families.
... A major one is reading aloud to children in kindergartens and to youngsters in classrooms, a powerful practice found to encourage children to read books by themselves and to persuade less able children to read (Canoy, van Ours and van der Ploeg, 2006), among other significant benefits to be discussed in the next part of this project. However, in many cases this routine was found not to be practiced regularly but rather implemented as an "award" or when spare time is left (Ledger and Merga, 2018). Another approach teachers can adopt is to engage parents by inviting them to the kindergarten or classroom and ask them to read to the children from their beloved children and young adult books (Stoeva and Filipova, 2018). ...
... Nevertheless, the majority of children show a positive attitude toward being read aloud both at school and home (Ledger and Merga, 2018). Children engaged in the activity described to experience emotions such as "happy", "relaxed", "good inside". ...
... On a rare occasion children would say that the content was "boring". In their research focusing on the practice of reading aloud and its frequency, Ledger and Merga (2018) concluded that it tends to be interrupted in older ages, most frequently when children obtain the ability to read independently. ...
Reading is a form of active learning, and cultivation of reading habits is vital for every child and young adult. However, according to the world’s most in-depth and trustworthy indicator of students’ abilities, PISA, reading skills among youngsters are barely improving. The project aims to deliver answers to the questions: what is the overall state of the reading habits of European children and young adults?; how is reading encouraged and promoted to children and young adults in the digital age?; what marketing and advertising strategies and initiatives are being introduced and practiced in Europe to encourage and promote reading among children and young adults?. To follow this aim we propose a survey overview on children’s and young adult’s reading habits and attitudes; bibliographical review of previous research on the topic of reading promotion, positive practices and marketing strategies; and a questionnaire survey, conducted among European organizations, involved in book and reading promotion. By observing the gathered data, we were able to conclude that reading habits and attitudes of children and young adults are predetermined at a very young age. The most important influencing factors that we examined were the active home literacy environment with access to books and literacy materials at an early age; the application of the reading aloud practice, starting at infancy; the kindergarten and school environment. What is more, we concluded that all adults, participating in children’s lives: parents; relatives; educators; librarians; social media influencers are role models with a strong influence on the shaping of the attitudes of youngsters towards reading.
... Reading aloud at school is therefore invaluable for the opportunity it brings to children inside the household who are not read to. If these children may undergo other ways of helpful and rich experiments in oral literacy, it is nevertheless, significant that more than a quarter of primary school-aged children are not read at home (Ledger & Merga, 2018). In the school setting, teachers ought to ensure that children gain daily exposure to this experience. ...
... Reading aloud is not generally a hallmark in mainstream schools, considering the importance of reading aloud as an important pedagogical element. Current data shows that most kids are often only heard by their teachers, with only 3.4 percent of kids reported being read by their teachers every day ( (Ledger & Merga, 2018). ...
Disciplinary behavior increases children's responsibility and self-control skills by encouraging mental, emotional and social growth. This behavior is also related to school readiness and future academic achievement. This study aims to look at read aloud with the media of large books in improving disciplinary behavior during early childhood. Participants were 20 children aged 5-6 years. By using qualitative methods as a classroom action research, data collection was carried out by observation, field notes, and documentation. The results of pre-cycle data showed that the discipline behavior of children increased to 42.6%. In the first cycle of intervention learning with ledger media, the percentage of children's discipline behavior increased to 67.05%, and in the second cycle, it increased again to 80.05%. Field notes found an increase in disciplinary behavior because children liked the media which was not like books in general. However, another key to successful behavior of the big book media story. Another important finding is the teacher's ability to tell stories to students or read books in a style that fascinates children. The hope of this intervention is that children can express ideas, insights, and be able to apply disciplinary behavior in their environment. Keywords: Early Discipline Behavior, Read aloud, Big Book Media References Aksoy, P. (2020). The challenging behaviors faced by the preschool teachers in their classrooms, and the strategies and discipline approaches used against these behaviors: The sample of United States. Participatory Educational Research, 7(3), 79–104. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.20.36.7.3 Anderson, K. L., Weimer, M., & Fuhs, M. W. (2020). Teacher fidelity to Conscious Discipline and children’s executive function skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 51, 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.08.003 Andriana, E., Syachruroji, A., Alamsyah, T. P., & Sumirat, F. (2017). Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia Natural Science Big Book With Baduy Local Wisdom Base. 6(1), 76–80. https://doi.org/10.15294/jpii.v6i1.8674 Aulina, C. N. (2013). Penanaman Disiplin Pada Anak Usia Dini. PEDAGOGIA: Jurnal Pendidikan, 2(1), 36. https://doi.org/10.21070/pedagogia.v2i1.45 Bailey, B. A. (2015). Introduction to conscious discipline Conscious discipline: Building resilient classrooms (J. Ruffo (ed.)). Loving Guidance, Inc. Brown, E. (1970). The Bases of Reading Acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 6(1), 49. https://doi.org/10.2307/747048 Clark, S. K., & Andreasen, L. (2014). Examining Sixth Grade Students’ Reading Attitudes and Perceptions of Teacher Read Aloud: Are All Students on the Same Page? Literacy Research and Instruction, 53(2), 162–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2013.870262 Colville-hall, S., & Oconnor, B. (2006). Using Big Books: A Standards-Based Instructional Approach for Foreign Language Teacher CandidatesinaPreK-12 Program. Foreign Language Annals, 39(3), 487–506. https://doi.org/doi:10.1111/j.1944-9720.2006.tb02901.x Davis, J. R. (2017). From Discipline to Dynamic Pedagogy: A Re-conceptualization of Classroom Management. Berkeley Review of Education, 6. https://doi.org/10.5070/b86110024 Eagle, S. (2012). Computers & Education Learning in the early years : Social interactions around picturebooks , puzzles and digital technologies. Computers & Education, 59(1), 38–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.10.013 Farrant, B. M., & Zubrick, S. R. (2012). Early vocabulary development: The importance of joint attention and parent-child book reading. First Language, 32(3), 343–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723711422626 Galini, R., & Kostas, K. (2014). Practices of Early Childhood Teachers in Greece for Managing Behavior Problems: A Preliminary Study. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 152, 784–789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.321 Ho, J., Grieshaber, S. J., & Walsh, K. (2017). Discipline and rules in four Hong Kong kindergarten classrooms : a qualitative case study. International Journal of Early Years Education, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2017.1316242 Hoffman, L. L., Hutchinson, C. J., & Reiss, E. (2005). Training teachers in classroom management: Evidence of positive effects on the behavior of difficult children. In The Journal of the Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators (Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp. 36–43). Iraklis, G. (2020). Classroom (in) discipline: behaviour management practices of Greek early childhood educators. Education 3-13, 0(0), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2020.1817966 Kalb, G., & van Ours, J. C. (2014). Reading to young children: A head-start in life? Economics of Education Review, 40, 1–24. https://doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2014.01.002 Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (1988). The action research planner (3rd ed.). Deakin University Press. Ledger, S., & Merga, M. K. (2018). Reading aloud: Children’s attitudes toward being read to at home and at school. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(3), 124–139. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n3.8 Longstreth, S., Brady, S., & Kay, A. (2015). Discipline Policies in Early Childhood Care and Education Programs : Building an Infrastructure for Social and Academic Success Discipline Policies in Early Childhood Care and Education Programs : Building an Infrastructure. Early Education and Development, 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2011.647608 Mahayanti, N. W. S., Padmadewi, N. N., & Wijayanti, L. P. A. (2017). Coping With Big Classes: Effect of Big Book in Fourth Grade Students Reading Comprehension. International Journal of Language and Literature, 1(4), 203. https://doi.org/10.23887/ijll.v1i4.12583 Martha Efirlin, Fadillah, M. (2012). Penanaman Perilaku Disiplin Anak Usia 5-6 Tahun di TK Primanda Untan Pontianak. Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 1–10. Merga, Margaret K. (2017). Becoming a reader: Significant social influences on avid book readers. School Library Research, 20(Liu 2004). Merga, Margaret Kristin. (2015). “She knows what I like”: Student-generated best-practice statements for encouraging recreational book reading in adolescents. Australian Journal of Education, 59(1), 35–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944114565115 Merga, Margaret Kristin. (2017). Interactive reading opportunities beyond the early years: What educators need to consider. Australian Journal of Education, 61(3), 328–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944117727749 Milles;, M. B., & Huberman, M. (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis. Sage Publications. Moberly, D. A., Waddle, J. L., & Duff, R. E. (2014). Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education The use of rewards and punishment in early childhood classrooms The use of rewards and punishment in early childhood classrooms. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/1090102050250410 Mol, S. E., & Bus, A. G. (2011). To Read or Not to Read: A Meta-Analysis of Print Exposure From Infancy to Early Adulthood. Psychological Bulletin, 137(2), 267–296. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021890 Pegg, L. A., & Bartelheim, F. J. (2011). Effects of daily read-alouds on students’ sustained silent reading. Current Issues in Education, 14(2), 1–8. Penno, J. F., Wilkinson, I. A. G., & Moore, D. W. (2002). Vocabulary acquisition from teacher explanation and repeated listening to stories: Do they overcome the Matthew effect? Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(1), 23–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.1.23 Septyaningrum, A., & Mas’udah. (2015). Pengaruh metode bercerita berbasis dongeng terhadap kedisiplinan anak. Fakultas Ilmu Pendidikan, 1–5. Swanson, E., Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J., Petscher, Y., Heckert, J., Cavanaugh, C., Kraft, G., & Tackett, K. (2011). A synthesis of read-aloud interventions on early reading outcomes among preschool through third graders at risk for reading difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 44(3), 258–275. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219410378444 Turan, F., & Ulutas, I. (2016). Using storybooks as a character education tools. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(15), 169–176. Turuini Ernawati, Rasdi Eko Siswoyo, Wahyu Hardyanto, T. J. R. (2018). Local- Wisdom-Based Character Education Management In Early Childhood Education. The Journal Of Educational Development. Westbrook, J., Sutherland, J., Oakhill, J., & Sullivan, S. (2019). ‘Just reading’: the impact of a faster pace of reading narratives on the comprehension of poorer adolescent readers in English classrooms. Literacy, 53(2), 60–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.12141 Yılmaz, S., Temiz, Z., & Karaarslan Semiz, G. (2020). Children’s understanding of human–nature interaction after a folk storytelling session. Applied Environmental Education and Communication, 19(1), 88–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533015X.2018.1517062 Zachos, D. T., Delaveridou, A., & Gkontzou, A. (2016). Teachers and School “Discipline” in Greece: A Case Study. European Journal of Social Sciences Education and Research, 7(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.26417/ejser.v7i1.p8-19
... Georgiou & Kyza (2018) explained that social capital contained individual social network and relationship between individual and institution and could transform social relationship or network relationship into valuable resources and opportunities in the society. Ledger & Merga (2018) referred fi nancial capital to helping children's learning with family fi nance or income; parents applied fi nancial capital to create good learning environment for children to acquire learning advantage. Banjarnahor et al. (2018) also pointed out fi nancial capital as individual wealth, material resources, and production tool possessed, which could be easily changed into other forms of capital. ...
Under the effects of rapid changes in current social environment and family, family structure gradually changes from past extended family and stem family to nuclear family for matching modern social environment. Preschool children’s learning is affected by school education as well as family education. When different family socioeconomic status would affect children’s cognitive ability to form the stratification of cognitive ability development, such a phenomenon is growing apart from the philosophy of equality of educational opportunity. Aiming at parents of children in preschool education units in china, as the research objects, total 360 copies of questionnaire are distributed, and 237 valid copies are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 66%. The research results are summarized as below. 1. Children with higher family socioeconomic status present better cognitive ability, explaining the actual effect of family socioeconomic status on current children’s cognitive ability to form educational stratification as well as unequal opportunity for preschool education. 2. The higher family socioeconomic status shows the richer family educational resources. It is therefore inferred that children with higher family socioeconomic status reveal better cognitive ability, possibly because of richer family educational resources allowing children receiving more cultural, social, or financial capital stimulation to enhance more cognitive ability. According to the result to proposed suggestions, it is expected to enhance domestic ideal of equality of preschool educational opportunity, allow domestic education parallel to various advanced countries, and achieve the responsibility for cultivating quality citizen in the future.
... Furthermore, oral storytelling has traditionally played a major role in passing on cultural traditions, values, lessons, and shared emotions (Slay & Morton, 2020). Students 'enjoyment while reading is key to ensuring success and motivation; thus, one of the targets of read-alouds is to promote enjoyment (Ledger & Merga, 2018). Interactive read-aloud activities and shared readings permit children to interconnect with the text they are listening to; interact verbally with the text, with classmates, and with their teacher (Sudiati., et al 2018). ...
Reading aloud is a valuable technique that teachers utilize to develop students' literacy skills, improve comprehension skills, expand imagination, and increase text engagement. This strategy also helps English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students to master key elements of successful reading in English, like prosody, vocabulary, and comprehension. This research examined Emirati pre-service teachers' experiences and perceptions of an interactive read-aloud activity, using post read-aloud guided reflections. Common themes emerged and were reported. Participants (n=20) had a positive experience with read-aloud lessons despite minor challenges. Additionally, they recognized the importance of using read-aloud in an EFL context to support learning. Recommendations are made about running a successful read-aloud activity while highlighting its value for pre-service teachers and their trainers. Finally, this paper offers a platform for future researchers in pre-service teaching in similar settings.
... The reading aloud strategies advocated by previous studies (Pradana, 2017;Ledger & Merga, 2018) still focused on comprehension skills even though they technically practice word reading (reading aloud). This method might suit older students or adults who have mastered L1 reading and have aimed for comprehension skills in ESL/EFL reading. ...
Studies have shown that phonics instruction improves reading skills, with noticeable word recognition and pronunciation results. Despite the intensive use of this method in English countries, phonics has not been introduced or is minimally taught in Indonesian primary schools' English reading classes, where the teaching is mainly focused on text comprehension. This study aims to trial a systematic instruction in synthetic phonics to see whether the trial helps students improve their pronunciation and comprehension skills. Thirty-third graders from an Indonesian bilingual school and their English teachers were selected to participate in a six-month trial of synthetic phonics instruction, extended to a storybook reading programme. Pre-and post-experimental design was employed to measure the trial's effectiveness. Teachers' interviews and students' questionnaires were used to understanding their perspectives on the trial's benefits and feasibility for further implementation. The findings revealed that the trial accelerated students' decoding skills and improved word pronunciation and text comprehension. Another test of a paired sample t-test also highlighted the trial's significance (sig .01). Students also shared their experiences of improved vocabulary, confidence and enjoyment. The teachers agreed on the benefits of the trial. Still, they were unsure how to deliver the instruction in regular classroom sessions since it required long and vigorous direct teaching. Findings from this trial were not generalizable to EFL reading classes in Indonesian primary schools as it was tried out in a bilingual school where phonics was minimally introduced. However, the findings generally indicated the program's feasibility which can be re-tested. Thus, future studies involving more participants and extensive reading activities are suggested to determine the instruction's effectiveness and practicable implementation.
O artigo apresenta argumentos sobre aspectos relevantes para o ensino de literatura na escola: o domínio de repertório diversificado e a mediação que valoriza a oralidade do texto. Toma-se como pressuposto a natureza humanística, inventiva e comunicativa, pela palavra, do discurso literário. Indica autores brasileiros que podem compor uma coleção contemporânea de obras para seu ensino na escola fundamental no Brasil e em Portugal. Destaca a relevância da leitura oral para valorizar o lastro de oralidade que compõe a multimodalidade da criação literária. Conclui-se que para realizar trabalho significativo no ensino de literatura é preciso valorizar seu teor humanístico, visual e oral.
Bu araştırmanın amacı, sinemaya aktarılmış kitapların okunması ile öğrencilerin okumaya yönelik tutumlarında oluşacak değişikliğin gözlemlenmesidir. Bu bağlamda ilkokul seviyesinde deneysel bir çalışma olarak tasarlanan araştırma,sosyo-kültürel ve ekonomik yönden farklı seviyede olan 3 ayrı okulda uygulanmıştır. Uygulamaya her okuldan bir örneklem sınıf seçilmiştir. Sınıfların tamamı 2. sınıf seviyesinde olup her sınıfta 35 öğrenci bulunmaktadır. Öğrencilere tarafından, 6 aylık süreçte 5 kitap okunmuştur. Uygulama, kitabın okunması, yorumlanması, kitaptan esinlenerek senaryosu yapılmış sinema filminin izlenmesi ve yorumlanması, kitaptan esinlenmiş olan çizgi filmin izlenmesi ve yorumlanması, kitabın öğrenciler tarafından kısa bir tiyatro eserine dönüştürülmesi ve tiyatronun sınıfta oynanması etkinliklerini içermektedir. Kitapların tercihinde, sinema veya çizgi film olarak senaryolaştırılmış veyayınlanmış olmaları dikkate alınmıştır. Bu bağlamda Andersenden Masallar, Pinokyo, Denizler Altında 20.000 Fersah, Gizemli Adaya Yolculuk ve Alis Harikalar Diyarında kitapları seçilmiştir. Öğrencilerin okumaya yönelik tutumlarını belirlemek için Okumaya Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği uygulanmıştır. Uygulama İlk-son Test şeklinde yapılmıştır. Ayrıca okul dışı gelişimin gözlenmesi için Velilere yönelik 12 sorudan oluşan İlk-Son Anket geliştirilmiş ve uygulanmıştır. Sınıf içi değişiklikleri gözlemlemek içinde Öğretmenlere yönelik 11 sorudan oluşan İlk-Son anket uygulanmıştır. Araştırmanın sonucunda eğlenme amaçlı okuma ve akademik amaçlı okuma son testi ile ilk testi arasında son test lehine anlamlı fark bulunmuştur. Bu bağlamda Sinemaya Aktarılan Yazılı Eserleri Okunmanın Öğrencilerin Okumaya Yönelik Tutumları üzerinde olumlu etkiye sahip olduğu gözlemlenmiştir.
The study aims to investigate the effect of interactive reading practices with the role of the teacher on 4th-grade students’ reading comprehension success. Unlike traditional interactive reading, in the study, interactive reading was preferred with the role of the teacher directing the student's reading process. In this study, a quasi-experimental design was preferred. The study was conducted with 50 4th grade students attending a public school in Istanbul. "Reading Comprehension Achievement Test" developed by Tavşanlı (2014) was used as a data collection tool in this study. The normality and t-tests were used for the data analysis. The results of current research show that interactive reading practices with the role of teacher positively affect and support the reading comprehension achievement of primary school 4th-grade students. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.
Abstract: International findings indicate that there is a gap in the literacy performance of schoolaged
males and females, which has led to a focus on how to address this issue. Research suggests
that an individual’s literacy outcomes can be improved by regular recreational book reading, and
therefore increasing frequency of engagement in this practice is seen as beneficial. However, the
strategies and solutions employed to foster greater engagement in reading tend to subscribe to a
problematic theoretical root. Essentialist conceptions of gender often frame educational and policy
responses to this gender gap. Amongst other notions, males have been constructed as uniformly
preferring non-fiction. This paper draws on previously unpublished data from the 2015 International
Study of Avid Book Readers and the 2016 Western Australian Study in Children’s Book Reading to
examine the reading preferences of males. Male respondents in both studies displayed no marked
preference for non-fiction, and males were more likely to prefer to exclusively read fiction than
non-fiction. As essentialism requires homogeneity due to its biological basis, this paper ultimately
challenges the legitimacy of using an essentialist framework to generate knowledge about how to
best encourage males to read, exploring the risks inherent in this practice.
The benefits of regular recreational reading for literacy development have been widely acknowledged, and as such, encouraging children to be life-long readers is an educational imperative. Teachers who are models of keen recreational reading can play an important role in fostering a keen love of reading in children, so that they regularly engage in the practice. However, it is not known if all teachers have the time, inclination and awareness to actively model a love of reading in their classrooms. This article explores data from the 2016 Western Australian Study in Children's Book Reading to ascertain which teacher behaviours and attitudes children deem indicative of a love of reading. While many children did not know if their teachers liked reading or not, teachers who were perceived to be readers talked about books in the context of pleasure, were seen to read independently at school, and read aloud to the class with expression and emotional connection.
Grounded theory was developed by Glaser and Strauss who believed that theory could emerge through qualitative data analysis. In grounded theory, the researcher uses multiple stages of collecting, refining, and categorizing the data. The researcher uses the strategies of the making constant comparisons and applying theoretical sampling to obtain a theory grounded in the data. The justification of this paper is to provide discussion on the validity of grounded theory and the constant comparative method as effective research strategies for educators. The qualitative design of grounded theory will be the focus of this paper, along with a discussion of the constant comparative method, issues related to trustworthiness, and limitations inherent in grounded theory methodology.
I utilized a life history methodology in this study through which written and oral narratives were obtained from six postsecondary students who self-identified as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and/or Queer (LGBQ). Through this narrative process, I endeavored to understand how past events and behaviors shaped the participants' identities and their sense of resiliency. During the data analysis process, I experienced tension between etic and emic categories and themes. Consequently, I struggled to maintain an inductive position throughout the coding process. This article provides an overview of this process and seeks to add to the discussion regarding etic and emic perspectives in qualitative research.
URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs140268
Semi-structured interviews with 56 middle-class Australian parents, both mothers and fathers, were analysed using critical discourse analysis.The effects of three discourses of childhood are traced through parents’ accounts of their children’s literacy development: the discourse of individualism, the discourse of childcentredness and the discourse of developmentalism.The study finds that alignments between these discourses and discourses of gender produce certain ideal kinds of gendered literate girls and gendered literate boys even when parents explicitly subscribe to the notion of gender equality or gender neutrality.The association of literacy with femininity or with particular personality types which are associated with femininity; the notion of girls being developmentally advanced in key literacy-related areas such as speech; the absence of a taboo on directing girls’ early learning; all of these elements have the potential to form a tight cluster constituting girls’ literacy learning as natural and unproblematic. In contrast, the opposition between masculinity and literacy, or particular literacies; the expectation of developmental delay and the attribution of agency to boys in deciding (or not deciding) when they are ready to learn; these elements form another tight cluster constituting boys’ literacy learning as problematic.
The literature reveals that no adequate instrument exists to measure college students’ attitudes toward academic reading even though such attitudes are crucial for reading compliance and learning from text. To remedy this, the authors created and refined an attitude survey, administering it to 855 university students across four iterations. The resulting 20-item instrument measures academic reading attitudes on three subscales: (1) students’ perceived academic reading behaviors, (2) their expectations for success with academic reading tasks, and (3) the value they place on academic reading. Factor analyses demonstrated acceptable fit using this three-factor structure. Reliability coefficients estimating internal consistency ranged from .800 to .890. Correlations among the three-factor subscales varied from .365 to .675. Implications of the survey for research and attitude assessment are discussed.