Reading for Success in a Tenth-Grade Global-Studies Class: A Qualitative Study

This study explored the reading-related perspectives of participants in a 10th-grade global-studies class. Conducted according to the qualitative research traditions associated with symbolic interactionism, it was a collaboration between a university-based reading education specialist and the class's teacher. Data were collected and analyzed inductively according to the constant comparative method. The students and teacher shared understandings about the constitution of classroom activities; however, their opinions about what it meant to be successful in these settings differed. For the teacher, reading to understand was most important. For students, it was getting an adequate grade. We conclude that there is a need for more understanding of students’ purposes for reading and the ways in which these purposes affect the results of their efforts. Likewise, teachers need to craft instruction that responds to these understandings.