An examination of attitudes, interests, and levels of response to young adult novels versus classic novels

This qualitative case study investigated the attitudes, interests, and levels of response to a young adult novel and a classic novel in a high school English class. Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, and Ryck (1999) and Worthy, Moorman, and Turner (1999) indicated a decline in reading attitudes and interests for students in junior high and high school. The reasons most frequently cited are the students' lack of interest in school related materials, the non-availability of materials, the lack of time allocated for reading and the students' interest in other activities. The guiding research question was "What are the differences in attitudes, interests, and levels of response between the classic novel versus the young adult novel?" The setting for this study was a high school English classroom of an urban school district in the Midwest. Observations were sustained for an eleven-week period while both novels were taught. Various kinds of data were collected: (a) Field notes were taken daily during observations of 40 class sessions, (b) student interviews were audiotaped and transcribed, and (c) 20 artifacts and documents were collected from the teacher and students. Data analysis consisted of repeated readings of transcripts from interviews and observations. Information was coded using the constant comparative method.;The results of this investigation include case studies of the classic novel and the young adult novel, as well as a within-case analysis of both the novels. Analysis revealed that a novel's theme, characters, setting, language, and style affected the students' level of response to the novels. Students demonstrated a better attitude and higher interest in the young adult novel in contrast to the classic novel. The results also revealed some challenges for teachers to link classic novels with young adult novels in the English curriculum.