Literacy for Middle School Students: Challenges of Cultural Synthesis

Abstract

In this manuscript, the author explores the question, What does research suggest for middle level readers? To answer it, she conducts a synthesis of empirical studies published between 1990 and 2001 that appeared in journals linked to the author’s professional membership (i.e., Research in Middle Level Education (RMLE), Reading Research Quarterly (RRQ), Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (JAAL), American Educational Research Journal (AERJ), Reading Research and Instruction (RRI), and Review of Educational Research (RER)). This examination noted attention to eight categories: (1) interests, (2), strategy instruction, (3) vocabulary, (4) student attributes, (5) comprehension, (6) context, (7) discussion, and (8) tutoring. The author then explores the implications of these findings for researchers and practitioners. Specifically, the author calls for a stronger attention to the literacy learning of middle level students and a greater degree of interplay between researcher and practitioner agendas.