1st Edition
Promoting Academic Readiness for African American Males with Dyslexia Implications for Preschool to Elementary School Teaching
This timely book tackles underlying issues that see disproportionate numbers of African American males with dyslexia undiagnosed, untreated, and falling behind their peers in terms of literacy achievement.
Considering factors including dialectic linguistic difference, limited phonological awareness, and the intersectionality of gender, language, and race, the studies included in this volume illustrate how classroom practices at preschool and elementary levels are failing to support students at risk of reading and writing difficulties. Promoting Academic Readiness for African American Males with Dyslexia shows that it is possible to provide every girl and boy, and particularly African American boys with effective support and appropriate interventions enabling them to read at a level that is conducive to ongoing academic performance and success. This, argue the authors of this volume, is vital to the social, emotional, moral, and intellectual development of our society.
This edited volume was originally published as a special issue of Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties. It will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, and academics in the field of African-American Education, Educational Equity, Race studies, Multiple learning difficulties and Literacy development.
Prelude: African American Boys with Dyslexia and Their Literacy Development
Shawn Anthony Robinson and Corey Thompson.
"The Forgotten Boys:" Introduction to Special Issue
Maryanne Wolf
Chapter 1: How Does a Metalinguistic Phonological Intervention Impact the Reading Achievement and Language of African American Boys
Jeannette Russell and Molly Drake Shiffler.
Chapter 2: Reading and Language Performance of Low-Income, African American Boys in Grades 1–5
Julie A. Washingtona, Lee Branum-Martina, Ryan Lee-Jamesb, and Congying Suna
Chapter 3: Exploring the Master Narrative: Racial Knowledge and Understanding of Language and Literacy Pedagogy for Special Education Teacher Candidates
Joy Banks and Simone Gibson.
Chapter 4: Teaching Writing to Young African American Male Students Using Evidence-Based Practices
Steve Graham, Karen R. Harris, and Keith Beard.
Biography
Shawn Anthony Robinson is Senior Research Associate in the Wisconsin's Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) and an Instructional Program Manager in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, University of Wisconsin Madison, USA.
Corey Thompson is Associate Professor at Cardinal Stritch University, USA.
"While we know much more about literacy than we did several decades ago, we continue to miss the mark on the impact of race. Consequently, we are failing millions of kids and widening the racial achievement gap. In this text, Shawn Robinson and Corey Thompson continue their relentless work to change how we perceive, diagnose, and teach African American children with dyslexia. More importantly, they insist that we rethink our approach to and investment in research related to the intersectionality of reading, disability, and race. Both teachers and researchers should take note!"
Timothy Dohrer is Director of the Master of Science in Education Program, Northwestern University, USA.
"Dr. Shawn Robinson has compiled an impressive collection of work by distinguished researchers on the subject of African American boys with dyslexia. This perennially underserved population in far too many ways. Our institutional failure to ensure early identification and appropriate instruction diminishes opportunities for individuals to reach their full potential to often tragic results. This volume is a welcome addition to the scarce resources on the subject, and offers the hope that its lessons will improve individual lives, as well as the health of our communities."
Cheri Rae is Author of DyslexiaLand: A Guide for Parents of Children with Dyslexia and Director of The Dyslexia Project, Santa Barbara, USA.
"This highly readable book addresses two of the most pressing issues in education – the inequities of achievement gaps and the importance of early reading as the gateway to education. The authors are authoritative experts who share important ideas, findings, and practical steps that can be taken to help all children learn to read."
John D.E. Gabrieli is Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
"Drs. Robinson and Thompson’s book sheds needed light on the lingering problem of high illiteracy rates among African American students, especially boys. The book does far more than identify the problem. The authors of the well-chosen articles, offer solid suggestions for changes in the way we educate students to provide instruction that can close the persistent achievement gap that leaves to many African American boys with few educational and employment opportunities upon leaving the Pk-12 public school system. Their book is is a must read for educational administrators, policy makers, and teachers."
William Kitz is Associate Director, Project Success, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, USA.
