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Adolescent Reading Improvement ADOLESCENT READING IMPROVEMENT: A PHENOMENOLOGY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES by Anne Summerall Poplin Liberty University A Proposal Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Liberty University 2017 2 ADOLESCENT READING IMPROVEMENT: A PHENOMENOLOGY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES by Anne Summerall Poplin A Proposal Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA 2017 APPROVED BY: Grania Gothard Holman, Ed. D., Committee Chair James Zabloski, Ed. D., Committee Member Joseph Powell, Ed. D., Committee Member 3 ABSTRACT The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experience of improvement in reading comprehension of adolescent readers who have made gains greater than what might be predicted based on previous growth in reading comprehension measures. These research questions guided this study: What influences have impacted the lived experiences of these improving readers? What barriers to reading improvement existed for these students? In addition, what school-related reading experiences, if any, hold meaning for these readers? What characteristics are shared among adolescent readers who have experienced better-than-expected growth? Interviews, story chart artifacts created by participants, and observations of students’ process and self-talk while reading short passages were collected from 12 students at Placid High School (pseudonym). Analysis was conducted using Hycner’s framework and hermeneutic analysis in order to discover the essence of these students’ experiences as improving readers. Methodologically, this study ascertained shared characteristics and experiences that influenced the reading comprehension growth of these adolescents through inductive study of all data. Four themes emerged through the data analysis: Reading as Provocation, Reading as Displacement, Reading as Relationship, and Reading as Confluence. Keywords: adolescent literacy, adolescent readers, reading comprehension 4 Dedication Soli deo Gloria. In Memoriam This dissertation is presented in memory of my mother, June Love Smith Summerall, a brilliant woman who loved fiercely and with a great burden for her grandchildren, children, and husband. Her long-hand journals, triplicate copies of manuscripts submitted (and rejected) for publication, scribbled lists, and underlined, annotated passages in theology and psychology books inspired me to read early and significantly above grade level. I was certain that answers were in those books, between those binder covers, on the backs of those envelopes. I devoured her words and the words that moved her in an often vain attempt to plumb the unfathomable depths and calculate the immeasurable heights of her interior life. Now, I think I understand. Her secrets are safe with me. 5 Acknowledgements According to writer Anne Lamott, there are really only two prayers we ever need utter: “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” and “Help me, help me, help me.” God responded to both of those prayers through of the love, support, and occasional words of righteous admonishment of the many who guided, mentored, humored, and sometimes carried me on this journey. First, I am deeply indebted to my family. For the love of learning modeled in a Christ- centered life – Dad, you brought the black-and-white squiggles on the printed page to life for me, and I learned to love the Word at your feet, sitting on a pile of theology books. For the devotion, respect, and encouragement of my husband, my partner, my best friend, and my kindest critic – David, may the rest of our Sunday afternoons, empty of deadlines, stretch before us. For the curiosity, for the concern, and for the conviction that I would finish of our two adult children – Grace and Mac, I hope you saw how God provides for us strength when we have no more of our own. It has been a long story of what can happen when you “take delight in the Lord,” and wait for him to “give you the desires of [your] hearts.” I also wish to express my sincere appreciation to my Chair and my Committee Members: Dr. Grania Holman, for her vision of how academics, faith, family, and service can be woven together in the beautiful fabric of a woman’s life; Dr. James Zabloski, for his unflinching expectations of excellence and his willingness to share his own growth story with students at Liberty University; and Dr. Joseph Powell, for his enthusiastic encouragement and professional collegiality through the years before, during, and, I trust, after this project. In addition, I would like to thank my colleagues, past and present, at South Aiken High School. They believed in me, even when I no longer believed in myself. 6 Last, my heartfelt gratitude to all the students who shared their reading lives with me as participants. I pray that I did justice to the books, the people, and the stories that you all entrusted to me. You and students like you give purpose and hope to all educational researchers. 7 Table of Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 3 Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 5 List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ 12 List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 14 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 14 Background ....................................................................................................................... 15 Situation to Self................................................................................................................. 20 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................ 22 Purpose Statement ............................................................................................................. 23 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................. 24 Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 24 Definitions......................................................................................................................... 26 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 29 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 29 Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 29 Learning-to-Read Stages ....................................................................................... 31 Reading-to-Learn Stages: Middle School ............................................................. 31 Reading-to-Learn Stages: High School and Beyond ............................................ 32 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................... 35 8 New Criticism ....................................................................................................... 35 Rosenblatt’s Transactional Reader Response Theory ........................................... 36 Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism ........................................................................ 38 Related Literature.............................................................................................................. 38 Reading Processes Necessary for Secondary Reading ......................................... 39 Barriers to Continuous Reading Growth for Adolescents .................................... 42 Interventions for High School Readers ................................................................. 47 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER THREE: METHODS ................................................................................................. 61 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 61 Design ............................................................................................................................... 61 Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 62 Setting ............................................................................................................................... 62 Participants .......................................................................................................................
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