I the PROCESS of LITERACY INTEGRATION in AGRICULTURE
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THE PROCESS OF LITERACY INTEGRATION IN AGRICULTURE CLASSROOMS: A GROUNDED THEORY _______________________________________ A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy _____________________________________________________ by LAURA HASSELQUIST Dr. Tracy Kitchel, Dissertation Co-Supervisor Dr. Anna Ball, Dissertation Co-Supervisor MAY 2017 i The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled THE PROCESS OF LITERACY INTEGRATION IN AGRICULTURE CLASSROOMS: A GROUNDED THEORY presented by Laura L. Hasselquist, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Dr. Tracy Kitchel, Professor and Department Chair, Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication, The Ohio State University Dr. Anna Ball, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Agricultural Education and Leadership Dr. Jon Simonsen, Associate Professor and Department Chair, Agricultural Education and Leadership Dr. Amy Lannin, Assistant Professor, English Education, Director, Campus Writing Program ii DEDICATION To Alissa, Craig, Monika, and Pj, thank you for believing in me before I believed in myself. You encouraged me to pursue a path I never would have thought possible. You made this happen. To all the agriculture teachers who make a difference in the lives of countless students each and every day. Thank you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you so much to my committee members for their time and talents. I could not have asked for a more supportive team. To Tracy Kitchel, words are not enough. I am so appreciative of everything you have done for me. Thank you for your mentorship, guidance, and friendship. I am prepared and confident to become a teacher educator because of your efforts. To Anna Ball, thank you for exposing me to the power of qualitative research, for the thoughtful comments on my dissertation, and all the insightful advice you so willingly shared. To Jon Simonsen, thank you for your willingness to help with whatever I needed, your smiling face brought moments of calm and Zen to my dissertation process. To Amy Lannin, I am so grateful you were willing to serve on my committee. Your literacy expertise has been indispensable to my dissertation and future research agenda. To Dr. Tummons, Dr. Cletzer, and my fellow grad students thank you for the support, laughter, and friendship. I could not have done it without you. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Background and Setting .................................................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................ 6 Need for Study ................................................................................................................ 7 Purpose & Research Questions ....................................................................................... 8 Definition of Terms......................................................................................................... 9 Basic Assumptions ........................................................................................................ 10 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................................... 13 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 13 Literacy ......................................................................................................................... 13 What is Literacy? ...................................................................................................... 13 iii Literacy Instruction throughout School .................................................................... 14 Literacy in Secondary Schools.................................................................................. 17 Literacy and Content Area Teachers ......................................................................... 19 Challenge of Incorporating Literacy ......................................................................... 20 Barriers to Literacy Incorporation ............................................................................ 22 Literacy and Teacher Training .................................................................................. 24 Benefits of Developing Literacy Skills ..................................................................... 25 Teacher Learning .......................................................................................................... 27 Professional Development ........................................................................................ 27 Literacy instruction and professional development. ............................................. 29 On the Job Experience .............................................................................................. 30 Modes of Knowledge ................................................................................................ 32 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 35 Purpose and Research Question .................................................................................... 35 Research Design............................................................................................................ 35 Epistemology ................................................................................................................ 36 iv Positionality Statement ................................................................................................. 37 Participants .................................................................................................................... 38 Data Sources ................................................................................................................. 40 Interviews .................................................................................................................. 41 Classroom Teaching Observations ........................................................................... 42 Field Notes ................................................................................................................ 43 Literacy-Related Artifacts ......................................................................................... 43 Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 43 Data Management ......................................................................................................... 44 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 44 Open Coding ............................................................................................................. 45 Axial Coding ............................................................................................................. 45 Selective Coding ....................................................................................................... 47 Validation Strategies ..................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS ................................................................................................ 50 Purpose and Central Question ....................................................................................... 50 Outline for Findings ...................................................................................................... 50 v Belief Drivers of Practice .............................................................................................. 50 The Belief that Student Success Outside the Classroom Relies on Literacy ............ 51 Information and news literacy. ............................................................................. 56 Students’ Vocabulary Development Extends Beyond Agriculture Content ............. 57 Literacy is Pragmatic… for the Teacher ................................................................... 59 Recognition of Literacy in Agriculture as an Important Means of Student Transfer 62 Literacy Considerations ................................................................................................ 64 Teachers’ Professional Growth and Career Maturation Concerning Literacy .......... 64