The reading life histories of three adolescent males

This study examines the reading lives of three adolescent male students who struggle in reading. The three students identified for this study are students who failed to meet the academic criteria for promotion from grade eight to grade nine as defined by the 2011 Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAKS) and were placed in grade nine by a school level grade placement committee. One African American adolescent male student, one Hispanic adolescent male student, and one White adolescent male student were identified for this study. All three students qualify for free and/or reduced lunch as defined by the United States Federal Lunch Program, and none of the students receive special education and/or 504 services.;This study is of the qualitative tradition and utilizes life history, a form of narrative inquiry. Narrative inquiry is a method for representing and understanding the human experience and contributes in a significant way to the research through its ability to frame the human experience by reconstructing the personal and social life histories of the participants. This study explores, attempts to understand, and describes the reading life histories of three adolescent males who struggle with reading as told through their voices and extended through the voices of their primary caregivers, their current grade nine teachers, and their grade eight teachers. This methodology utilizes one-on-one interviews and classroom observations in order to capture the participants' everyday reading experiences and their perspectives on reading. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the reading journeys of struggling adolescent male readers in an effort to inform educational policy and improve reading instruction.;This study was conducted in a large urban school district that serves 51,800 students of which 6.1% are African American, 69.9 % are Hispanic, 19.1% are White, and 4.9% are Asian, Native American or Pacific Islander. Seventy-eight percent of the district's students qualify for the National School Lunch Program, 28.8% are limited English proficient, and 56.0% are considered at-risk (Texas Education Agency, 2011).