The DOI matches its Crossref record; 45 of the 46 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Negative Consequences of Becoming a Good Reader: Identity Theory as a Lens for Understanding Struggling Readers, Teachers, and Reading Instruction
Abstract
Background/Context The majority of middle school students in U.S. schools are struggling readers and lack the reading abilities needed to successfully comprehend texts, complete reading-related assignments, and learn subject matter content. Researchers have suggested that struggling readers’ comprehension abilities can be improved if their subject-matter teachers provide them with appropriate skill and strategy instruction, as well as regular opportunities to read and discuss texts. However, struggling readers may choose not to apply the reading skills they have been taught and may approach reading tasks in ways that they know prevent them from learning content and that marginalize their abilities to grow as readers. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The multiple case study presented here was intended to explore how middle school struggling readers and their content-area teachers made decisions about how to work with classroom reading tasks and each other over a period of one academic year. A case study approach allowed for the actions that took place to be closely documented. Theories of identity, including models of identity, identity capital, and discursive identity, framed the analysis for this study and were used to interpret the research questions. The research questions were: (1) How do middle school teachers interact with struggling readers in relation to the reading task demands of their classrooms? (2) How do middle school struggling readers interact with the reading task demands of their content-area classrooms? Setting This study took place in one sixth-grade social studies classroom, one seventh-grade mathematics classroom, and one eighth-grade science classroom. Population/Participants/Subjects The participants were: (a) Sarah and Mrs. O'Reilly in sixth grade, (b) Nicole and Mrs. Harding in seventh grade, and (c) Alisa and Mrs. Baker in eighth grade. Research Design This was a descriptive year-long multiple case study. Data sources included biweekly observations, questionnaires, interviews, and graded class work. Findings Teachers’ interactions with struggling readers were based on (a) their models of identity for what it meant to become a good reader and (b) the discursive identities they created for their students based on their models of identity. Students’ interactions with classroom reading tasks were based on (a) how they identified themselves as readers and (b) their goal to prevent their peers, teachers, or family members from constructing a discursive identity of them as poor readers.
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“These studies indicate that when adolescents actually do identify themselves with identity positions that are stigmatized by their peers, they may hide that they do in order to safeguard their reputation.”
From The Role of School in Adolescents’ Identity Development. A Literature Review (2019) · cites this paper as Hall 2010
In the citing paper
“However, students shared in their questionnaires and interviews that they felt it was not really possible to engage in class as someone who is becoming a good reader. Students mentioned to fear the social consequences of engaging in class as such, because classmates jointly reinforced the norm that it is embarrassing to have reading difficulties. Therefore, as some of the students reported, they”
From The Role of School in Adolescents’ Identity Development. A Literature Review (2019) · cites this paper as Hall 2010
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“For example, Hall (2010) found — based on observations as well as teacher questionnaires and interviews — that the teachers of a middle school offered their students three different reader identity positions: one of a poor reader (someone who is unable to understand most of what he or she reads,…”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Hall, L. A.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hall, Leigh A.
- Venue
- Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-07
- Volume
- 112
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1792-1829
- ISSN
- 0040-0475 (ISSN-L)
- 0161-4681
- 1467-9620
- OpenAlex
- W1883383473
- Cited by
- 76
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 6.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Teachers College Record The Voice of Scholarship in Education (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
- Social Sciences › Education › Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
- Social Sciences › Education › Literacy and Educational Practices
- Keywords
- struggling readers, identity theory, discursive identity, identity capital, junior high school students, content teachers, reading instruction, teacher-student relationship, reading comprehension, social studies, mathematics
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