Understanding Students' Chosen Literacy Practices During Non-Academic Times: an Ethnographic Teacher-Research Inquiry Justin Robert Moyer Lesley University
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Lesley University DigitalCommons@Lesley Educational Studies Dissertations Graduate School of Education (GSOE) 2016 Understanding Students' Chosen Literacy Practices During Non-Academic Times: An Ethnographic Teacher-Research Inquiry Justin Robert Moyer Lesley University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/education_dissertations Part of the Language and Literacy Education Commons, Secondary Education Commons, and the Special Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Moyer, Justin Robert, "Understanding Students' Chosen Literacy Practices During Non-Academic Times: An Ethnographic Teacher- Research Inquiry" (2016). Educational Studies Dissertations. 11. https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/education_dissertations/11 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School of Education (GSOE) at DigitalCommons@Lesley. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Studies Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Lesley. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNDERSTANDING STUDENTS’ CHOSEN LITERACY PRACTICES DURING NON- ACADEMIC TIMES: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC TEACHER-RESEARCH INQUIRY Submitted by Justin R. Moyer A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Lesley University Graduate School of Education Fall 2016 !ii ! !iii I never would have gone anywhere if I had not realized how to think and write my way. —Me !iv ABSTRACT This dissertation aims to illuminate the literacy practices that a group of “struggling” students undertake during unstructured times of the school day. The study aims to extend prior theoretical work on literacy (Street, 1984; Weil, 1993; Luttrell & Parker, 2001; Kinloch, 2010; among others) to identify the ways these students engage in literacy practices for deeply personal reasons. Further, this dissertation intends to dispel some of the many myths that surround students in special education settings and, in the case of the focal students in this study, alternative schools. Students reveal: (1) the literacy practices in which they participate, (2) explain their choices, and (3) contemplate the benefits. I ask about how they view, read, and interpret their larger worlds by way of their literacy practice(s). The study generally defines literacy practices as “what people do with literacy” (Barton & Hamilton, 2000). I expand the literature with an investigation into the personal literacy practices of high school students in special education as a means to inform their personhoods and enhance classroom instruction. The study followed five students who participated in an English elective, My Literate Self: How I View, How I Read, and How I Represent My Larger World. Students responded to a literacy prompt, discussed the daily prompt together, and created personal responses on digital slide programs. This ethnographic teacher-research inquiry utilized many ethnographic techniques, such as semi-structured interviews (Berg, 2007), unstructured interviews (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995), field notes (Delamont, 2002; Berg, 2007), audio recordings, and research artifacts (Glesne, 2006), for data collection. Data was analyzed for emergent themes and compared through triangulation (Delamont, 2002). This study found that students employed personal literacy practices to construct identity, cope with emotions and experiences, and to critique the world around them. Further, the study found that while students used their literacy practices in part to isolate themselves from others, the products of their literacy practices symbolized personal thoughts and emotions. This study found that students were more concerned with the process than the product of their literacy practices. !v Keywords: literacy practices, special education, alternative high school, social and emotional difficulties, teacher-research, ethnography, qualitative research !vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Many individuals have greatly impacted my thinking, my writing, and the direction of my work. Over the course of my doctoral studies numerous individuals have made significant contributions to my thinking by both challenging what I believed and by exposing me to the great breadth of thought in the educational research community. I offer the greatest Thank You to everyone that assisted me personally, professionally, and educationally in this most challenging endeavor. In a personal capacity, I thank my family who constantly checked-in about where I was and what I needed to progress. For their consistent inquires, “When will you finish?” that provided steady motivation to make progress. A special thanks to my mother and the hundreds of homemade TV dinners she made to make life a bit easier and so that I might get a bit of work done after a day of teaching. I also appreciate all the support from friends who frequently inquired about my status and encouraged me in conversations to keep going. I owe a great deal of gratitude to David DiMattia, who has and continues to be both a great friend and professional mentor. He has been a consistent advisor and sounding board. Through action and suggestion he taught me to make the tough choices in the classroom and in life, that lead to inner-growth and positive results. Lastly, I owe the greatest of thanks to my doctoral committee—Dr. Caroline Heller, Dr. Grace Enriquez, and Dr. Stephen Mogge. Throughout the entire process, these folks have provided consistent feedback, suggestions, and education from their areas of expertise that enabled me to complete this meaningful research project. I also thank Dr. Barbara Steckel for her willingness to assume the role of committee chair during Dr. Heller’s sabbatical in the last !vii year of my studies. Dr. Heller has become a most influential role model in all my educational pursuits by encouraging me to always do more and to revise, revise, revise. She provided so much “grist for the [mental] mill” throughout all the seasons of my doctoral studies. !viii DEDICATION —To Logan. My inspirational nephew. !ix TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVALS…………………………………………………………………………………….ii ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………..…iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..………………………………………………………………..…vi DEDICATION..…………………………………………….………………………………….viii CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION……………………………….……………………………..1 1.1 My Path to Literature, Writing, and Teaching…………………………………….1 1.2 Statement of the Problem……………………………………………………………5 1.3 Purpose of the Study…………………………………………………………………8 1.4 Research Questions…………………………………………………………………13 1.5 Significance of the Study…………….….…….……………………………………13 1.6 Definitions of Terms………………………………………………………….……..15 1.7 Organization of the Study………………………………………………………….22 CHAPTER 2—REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE………………………………………….23 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………23 2.2 Analyzing How Literacy is Defined………………………………………………..29 2.3 Shifting Paradigms of Literacy…………………………………………………….35 2.4 New Literacy Studies and Alternative Literacies Defined………….…….….…..42 2.5 Literacy in the Classroom………………………………………………………….49 2.6 Research That Invites Students Into the Conversation…………………………..64 2.7 Research That “Re-Contacts” Students in the Conversation……………………73 !x 2.8 Research That Empowers Students to Lead the Conversation………………….79 2.9 Literacy in the Community……………………………………………….………..87 2.10 Bridging Classroom and Community Literacies………………………………..92 2.11 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………98 CHAPTER 3—METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN……….………..………..101 3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………….………….101 3.2 Perspective…………………………………………………………………………103 3.3 Neighborhood Setting……………………………………………………………..106 3.4 Focal Setting………………………………………………………………….……108 3.5 Around the School…………………………………………………………………110 3.6 In the School………………………………………………………………….……111 3.7 Researcher Role……………………………………………………………………112 3.8 What was Going On?……………………………………………….…….……….117 3.9 How I Worked with What I Saw?………………………………………….….….119 3.10 Population…………………………………………………………..…………….122 3.11 Procedures……………………………………………………………………..….125 Interviews…………………………………………………………………..……………125 Field Notes……………………………………………………………………..……..…127 Artifacts…………………………………………………………………………….……129 Course Prompts as Research Artifacts……………………….………………………130 Forms……………………………………………….……………………………………134 3.12 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………….….……135 !xi General…………………………………………………….……………………………135 Coding…………………………………………………………………………………..136 3.13 Conclusion……………………………………………………………….……….138 CHAPTER 4—ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS………………………………………….……141 4.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………..…141 4.2 Meeting the Research Group……………………………………………………..144 Coming Together……………………………………………………….………………144 Jacqui…………………………………………………………………….………………145 Peyton……………………………………………………………………………………149 Mess………………………………………………………………………………………156 Elizabeth…………………………………………………………………………………161 Monroe………………………………………………………….…….……….…………164 4.3 Introduction to Research Findings………………………………….……………169 Theme 1:Participants’ Identification of Emotions………………………………….171 Theme 2: Participants’ Text-to-Self Connections………….……….……….……..181 Theme 3: Group Culture Among Participants……………………………………..186 Theme 4: Participants’ Perceptions of Technology Regarding Literacy and the Larger World…………………………………….……….…………….………193 Theme 5: Participants’ Text-to-World Connections……………………………….202 Theme 6: Power Dynamics Embedded in Customs and in the Classroom……..208 4.4 Conclusion—How I Studied, What I Intended to Study..………….…….….….219 !xii CHAPTER 5—DISCUSSION, LIMITATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND CONCLUSION………………………………………………..………222