University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations Summer 2010 "We're in Charge of What We're Saying, What We Discuss, What We Want to Read": A Qualitative Inquiry Into Adolescent Girls' After-School Book Clubs Jie Y. Park University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Park, Jie Y., ""We're in Charge of What We're Saying, What We Discuss, What We Want to Read": A Qualitative Inquiry Into Adolescent Girls' After-School Book Clubs" (2010). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 195. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/195 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/195 For more information, please contact [email protected]. "We're in Charge of What We're Saying, What We Discuss, What We Want to Read": A Qualitative Inquiry Into Adolescent Girls' After-School Book Clubs Abstract This qualitative study examines the ways in which 23 early adolescent and adolescent girls and their literacy teacher co-constructed, participated in, and experienced an after-school book club located in a school setting. The book club met biweekly to discuss a student-selected text (e.g., fiction, non-fiction, song lyrics) over the course of one academic year. Using ethnographic methods, I explored what happened in the after-school book club, and how the girls’ race, gender, and class identities informed their readings of texts and emerged in their talk. From the data I identified several critical themes and learnings. First, the girls understood, talked about, and practiced reading as deeply relational and embedded in human relationships. Social relationships, family networks, and peer groups were identified as important factors that motivated the girls to read, and that sustained the girls’ commitment to reading. Second, the social aspect of book clubs—reading with others—fostered critical readings of and deeper engagement with texts. In and through reading and talking together, the girls reflected on, questioned, and debated the oler of race, gender, and class. The girls also initiated and sustained conversations that reflected the ways in which they understood themselves, other people, and their worlds. As readers the girls assumed a critical inquiry stance, inquiring into and grappling with difficult social and economicealities. r Third, the girls assumed a range of roles and responsibilities for forming and sustaining the book club. Lastly, the girls demonstrated their understanding of in-school and out-of-school contexts as reciprocal–i.e., that texts, social practices, knowledge and identities travel between and across contexts. The implications emerging from this study are relevant to the work of teachers, researchers, literacy- curriculum writers, after-school program coordinators, and others committed to supporting adolescent learners in both in-school and out-of-school settings. This study can prompt educators to re-imagine and reconstruct learning environments—both in and out of school—that can engage, challenge, and inspire adolescent learners. It can also generate conversation within the education research community about the possibilities and challenges involved in studying after-school spaces of literacy learning and engagement. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Education First Advisor Vivian L. Gadsden Second Advisor Susan L. Lytle Third Advisor Michael W. Smith Keywords adolescent literacy, book clubs, after-school learning, reading Subject Categories Education This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/195 ―WE‘RE IN CHARGE OF WHAT WE‘RE SAYING, WHAT WE DISCUSS, AND WHAT WE WANT TO READ‖: A QUALITATIVE INQUIRY INTO ADOLESCENT GIRLS‘ AFTER-SCHOOL BOOK CLUBS Jie Y. Park A DISSERTATION in Education Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 Supervisor of Dissertation: _______________________________________ Vivian L. Gadsden, Professor of Education Graduate Group Chair: ______________________________________ Stanton E.F. Wortham, Professor of Education Dissertation Committee: Vivian L. Gadsden, Professor of Education Susan L. Lytle, Professor of Education Michael W. Smith, Professor of Education ―We‘re in charge of what we‘re saying, what we discuss, and what we want to read‖: A qualitative inquiry into adolescent girls‘ after-school book clubs COPYRIGHT 2010 Jie Y. Park Acknowledgements This dissertation is a study about what it means for adolescent girls to be part of a community in which their literate lives and identities can be fostered. As such, it is also about the possibilities of reading, learning, and talking together. I have been fortunate to be part of many communities, which have supported me intellectually and personally. First, I would like to thank Dr. Vivian Gadsden, my advisor and mentor. Vivian has challenged, supported, and inspired me in my attempts to become a better researcher, educator, and advocate of students and families. I would also like to thank Dr. Susan Lytle, who encouraged me to invent the teaching and research opportunities I desired. Many of the ideas in this dissertation came from my work with Vivian and Susan. I owe much gratitude to Susan Bickerstaff, my thought-partner. Over the years, we have learned how to research and teach together, and how to be friends. I still have much to learn from and with her. I need to thank Kathleen Riley and the amazing women who are part of the Reading Inquiry Group; Molly Buckley, who taught me the possibilities and challenges of co-authorship.; and Colin Connor, who proofread each page and kept me sane and even happy. I would like to thank the members of my family: Mom, Dad, and Jai. They have taught me how to love and care for others, and valued my aspirations. Finally, I am indebted to Ms. Heather for opening her classroom and making it possible for me to meet a group of sophisticated, funny, generous, and smart girls; and the 23 girls who inspired, humbled, and taught me something new every Tuesday and Thursday. iii ABSTRACT WE’RE IN CHARGE OF WHAT WE’RE SAYING, WHAT WE DISCUSS, AND WHAT WE WANT TO READ”: A QUALITATIVE INQUIRY INTO ADOLESCENT GIRLS’ AFTER-SCHOOL BOOK CLUBS Jie Y. Park Vivian L. Gadsden This qualitative study examines the ways in which 23 early adolescent and adolescent girls and their literacy teacher co-constructed, participated in, and experienced an after-school book club located in a school setting. The book club met biweekly to discuss a student-selected text (e.g., fiction, non-fiction, song lyrics) over the course of one academic year. Using ethnographic methods, I explored what happened in the after-school book club, and how the girls‘ race, gender, and class identities informed their readings of texts and emerged in their talk. From the data I identified several critical themes and learnings. First, the girls understood, talked about, and practiced reading as deeply relational and embedded in human relationships. Social relationships, family networks, and peer groups were identified as important factors that motivated the girls to read, and that sustained the girls‘ commitment to reading. Second, the social aspect of book clubs—reading with others—fostered critical readings of and deeper engagement with texts. In and through reading and talking together, the girls reflected on, questioned, and debated the role of race, gender, and class. The girls also initiated and sustained conversations that reflected the ways in which they understood themselves, other people, and their worlds. As readers the girls assumed a critical inquiry stance, inquiring into and grappling with difficult social and economic realities. Third, the girls assumed a range of roles and responsibilities for forming and sustaining the book club. Lastly, the girls demonstrated their understanding of in-school and out-of-school contexts as reciprocal–i.e., that texts, social practices, knowledge and identities travel between and across contexts. iv The implications emerging from this study are relevant to the work of teachers, researchers, literacy-curriculum writers, after-school program coordinators, and others committed to supporting adolescent learners in both in-school and out-of-school settings. This study can prompt educators to re-imagine and reconstruct learning environments—both in and out of school—that can engage, challenge, and inspire adolescent learners. It can also generate conversation within the education research community about the possibilities and challenges involved in studying after-school spaces of literacy learning and engagement. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: Significance, Research Questions & Theoretical Frameworks Story of the Question 1 Significance of Study: Why After-School Book Clubs? 3 Why All Girls? The Promises and Challenges of Studying Girls 6 Research Questions 12 Organization of Dissertation 13 Theoretical Frameworks 14 CHAPTER II: Review of Literature Review of Relevant Literature 22 CHAPTER III: Methodology & Data Analysis Setting 34 Recruiting Heather and Adolescent Girls 37 Participants: Who Are the Girls? 39 Methodology and Data Collection Methods 42 Negotiating researcher positionality 46 Adolescents as co-researchers 49 Data Analysis 50 CHAPTER IV: What Kind of Space is an After-School Book