Date of Award
1998
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Earl Cheek, Jr
Abstract
Through methods of ethnographic research this study explores the attitudes toward literacy and the motivation to read of African American male secondary school students in an urban community. This study includes historical inquiry obtained through the gathering of oral histories from men who experienced their youth and adolescence in the same geographic area as the secondary school students. Over the past fifty years the neighborhood focused on in this study has undergone tremendous change, both societal and structural. Information obtained through the interviews of the older men and the younger men will be compared to determine changes in literacy attitudes, beliefs, and practices. The information gained from this study allows educators to examine the role of attitudes toward literacy within a specific cultural group. Historical background for future research into the role literacy plays in school, church, home, and community life for African American males was gained from the interviews of the older men. Insights into the importance of and the value placed on literacy among African American males, a group largely labeled at risk of failure, were gained from the interviews of the secondary school students. These insights may lead to greater cultural awareness and understanding of students by educators.
Recommended Citation
Washington, Donna Parham, "Literacy Stories: Attitudes Toward Literacy and Motivation to Read Among African-American Males in an Urban Community." (1998). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 6911.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/6911
ISBN
9780599252547
Pages
192
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.6911