Barbara J. Guzzetti and Margaret Gamboa
Reading Research Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 2004), pp. 408-436
Published by: International Reading Association
Retrieved electronically on 9/13/08 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4151741
This is an important study for our work with Fast Literacies because of its theoretical framework and research design. It contributes to broadening understandings of the relationship between in-school and out-of-school literacy practices. The theoretical framework also includes gender and identity formation.
1. Research Questions
1) What influences and enables adolescent girls in writing zines that promote social justice and refute stereotypical notions of how gender, sexuality, class, and race should be performed?
2) How do these adolescents develop and use literacy practices to form and express their identities?
2. Subjects, Setting, Context
The subjects were three adolescent women (AP students) who write and publish a 'zine. Data collection occurred at and near a high school.
3. Procedures (briefly)
Case study - "complete study of a bounded and integrated system". Did not look at writing process; only considered the writers, their content, and their motivation. Data collection included formal and informal interviews, observations, artifact collection (including the zines, in-school writing samples, photos of bedrooms and workspaces, influential music), open-ended questionnaires, field notes, and structured focus groups. Member checks were conducted with participants.
Data were analyzed using constant comparison. Trustworthiness established. Established "warrants" for assertions. Sought outside perspectives from other researchers.
4. Findings
1) The participants were influenced and motivated by a punk rock DIY ethic and feminist and progressive beliefs. They were supported by their middle class status, their race (white), and the technology tools used for publication.
2) The participants violated writing rules and expectations of in-school writing and chose topics freely based on interest. They borrowed from and responded to popular culture forms.
5. Strengths and Weaknesses of Study
This study adds to the breadth of adolescent literacy practices described in research. It provides a rich description of this particular case. The study is not generalizable to any other population and should not be interpreted too broadly in its implications for other students. The participants are all white, middle class or higher, and female.
6. Implications
The authors conclude (with the assent of all involved) that zines should not become writing assignments in the classroom. This kind of sanctioning would fundamentally change the nature of the writing. Instead, they recommend teachers adopt more opportunities for choice in writing topics, genres, etc., and that teachers adopt the "ethos" of zines. They also recommend more opportunities for ungraded writing and unshared writing.
7. Other Comments
"Why is it important to study why and how adolescents produce and consume zines as a literacy practice? There are two reasons offered by literacy researchers. First, as Donna Alvermann and Allison Heron (2001) noted, it is important for teachers to become aware of how students use literacies to form and represent their identities, to construct meaning, and to pursue their own interests. If teachers can become aware of who their students really are, and what motivates them to read and write, and learn how adolescents develop, practice, and refine their literacies outside of school, educators will be better equipped to connect those out-of-school literacy practices to the work students do in school. " p. 411
Research cited to show that students of both genders tend to write in gender-stereotypical ways: Burdick, 1997; Christie, 1995; Dyson, 1997; Kamler, 1994; MacGillivray & Martinez, 1998
"Susan Hunt (1995) discovered that adolescent males were more likely to write about philosophical questions, adventures, and social problems, while female students were more likely to write about relationships." p. 412
Research cited to show that some girls write against stereotype and cultural expectations: Blair, 1996; Christie, 1995; Guzzetti, Young, Gritsavage, Fyfe, & Hardenbrook, 2002.
As part of their theoretical framework, the authors cite Gee 1996 and Street 1994 to establish a sociocultural perspective on literacy as more than technical reading and writing. They also cite Scribner & Cole 1981 to establish that students' beliefs about purposes and value of literacy shape how they learn and practice literacy.
The authors' theoretical frame include identity construction (Bakhtin), d/Discourse (Gee), and gender (including Lather, Heath). This theoretical frame would be useful to examine in greater detail in any study dealing with gender representations at the camp.
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