An investigation of reading attitudes and influences among working class, multiethnic eighth grade students in one Ohio high school.

Abstract

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the reading attitudes and interests of working class, multiethnic eighth grade students at one Ohio high school. My research focused on these questions: Do children from working class homes fonn reading attitudes based on the attitudes of those who most influence them, namely parents and peers? Do working class families view reading as a more utilitarian, survival skill rather than as an emotionally enriching hobby? Are there differences among reading attitudes of white, African American, and Hispanic students? Is gender a factor when considering reading? These research questions were developed based on interaction with teenage readers and infonnation obtained through a variety of research sources such as Ways with Words by Shirley Brice Heath, Social Stratification and Inequality by Harold Kerbo, Survey Reveals Truths about Young Adult Readers by Nevada Thomason, as well as other relevant texts. My research methodology consisted of a survey via a four-page questionnaire, interviews with students, and participant observation. Data was collected via these methods in order to achieve triangulation, and yielded demographic, quantitative, and qua~itative infonnation. All of the research was conducted at a high school in a primarily working class community. The name of the high school and those of the students I interviewed are all pseudonyms in order to protect the confidentiality of all involved and in accordance with the Human Subjects and Research Committee at Youngstown State University.