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Motivation and Engagement

Family Matters Related to the Reading Engagement of Latina/o Children

Author: Vanderbilt University / Angela Arzubiaga University of Southern California / Robert Rueda and Lilia Monzó

Summary: This report published by the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA), examines the effect of sociocultural elements on Latina/o children's engagement with reading. The report suggests that family workload, nurturing, and family culture and language are all significantly related to children's attitudes toward reading and their self-concept as readers.

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Tags: Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: Elementary

Research Questions the Report Poses: What is the relationship between family ecocultural factors and Latina/o children’s engagement in reading?

Findings:

  • Family routines (what families do, as well as how, when, and why they do it) can provide important information about children's roles, expectations, and experiences within specific out-of-school learning situations, including reading engagement.
  • Motivation theories need to broaden their scope to include the child within her/his context, including family workload, language use at home, religious literacy activities, and use of media.
  • Teaching research which addresses diversity in terms of how people live, and not simply in terms of an extraneous characteristic of only some ethnicities, is likely to improve our understanding of how all children learn.
  • These findings also offer a new lens through which policymakers and schools can direct their efforts to engage families and understand student achievement.

Policy Recommendations:
N/A

Arzubiaga, A, Rueda, R, & Monzó, L. (2002). Family Matters Related to the Reading Engagement of Latina/o Children. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement.

Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning: Part One: Focus on Motivation and Engagement

Author: Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB), The Education Alliance at Brown University, Julie Meltzer and Edmund Hamann

Summary: This article reviews the major research findings as they relate to engagement and motivation of ELL adolescents. The highlighted research is meant to explore the confluence of two areas of study — literacy development and schooling practices for ELLs and native English speakers — and serve as a guide for professional development for secondary teachers. The literature review explores school and classroom contexts; instructional principles like relevance, choice, and student-centered classrooms; and instructional practices like scaffolding and activating prior knowledge as they relate to adolescent ELLs.

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Tags: Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Motivation; Placement; Reading; Struggling Readers; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary; Writing;

Target Population: Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: Review of the literature concerning student motivation and engagement on literacy development of adolescents and research on the schooling of adolescent ELLs.

Findings:

  • literacy development and effective instruction for ELL and non-ELL adolescents alike share many commonalities;
  • isolated ELL students are further negatively impacted as a result of these findings; and
  • content-area teachers may benefit from research and practices designed for ELL teachers
"

Policy Recommendations:

  • Teachers should use current secondary school ELL literature to create a blueprint of classroom contexts in which ELLs will be motivated and engaged to read and write across the content areas, and where reading and writing will contribute to their broader academic achievement.
  • Schools should train all secondary–school teachers to promote content–area literacy for ELLs.
  • To promote ELLs' or other students' continued development and application of literacy skills for academic learning, educators should plan opportunities that
    1. provide the environmental resources to support the work (i.e., various text materials);
    2. are grounded by high expectations that students can achieve or surpass the state standards and
    3. engage students-that they involve choice, are authentic, promote self–efficacy, and support autonomy.

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Education Alliance at Brown
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300
Providence, RI 02903-4226
Phone: 800.521.9550
Fax: 401.421.7650
E-mail: info@alliance.brown.edu

Meltzer, J. & Hamann, E. (2004). Meeting the literacy development needs of adolescent English language learners. Part one: Focus on motivation and engagement. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory.