The Achievement Ideology and Vulnerable Readers
Abstract
The study described in this proposal is a critical content analysis of the fourth grade level text from Reading Wonders (2014), the latest reading series published by McGraw-Hill. I employ as my theoretical frame what MacLeod (2009) terms the achievement ideology. This ideology, states MacLeod, is the “social perspective that sees American society as open and fair and full of opportunity. In this view, success is based on merit, and economic inequality is due to differences in ambition and ability” (p. 3). In describing critical content analysis, Beach, et al. (2009) explain that “what makes a study ‘critical’ is not the methodology but the framework used to think within, through, and beyond the text” (p. 130). The method itself is more generally termed content analysis, a research approach in which “the content of a text is interpreted through a process of coding and identifying themes or patterns . . . using analytical constructs from theories or research” (Beach, et al., p. 129). Results of the study demonstrated that the text promoted what might be termed a “culture of success,” championing such values as industry, self-control, risk-taking, and innovation. The second primary finding was that, despite a coherent emphasis on success, the text was so difficult that it would be hard for average readers—much less those who struggle—to succeed in reading it. Results of this study could play a significant role in alerting potential adopters of the limitations of this curriculum.
Presentation Description
The study described in this presentation is a critical content analysis of the fourth grade level text from Reading Wonders (2014), the latest reading series published by McGraw-Hill. Results of the study demonstrated that the text promoted what might be termed a “culture of success,” championing such values as industry, self-control, risk-taking, and innovation. The second primary finding was that, despite a coherent emphasis on success, the text was so difficult that it would be hard for average readers—much less those who struggle—to succeed in reading it.
Keywords
Critical content analysis, Achievement ideology
Location
Forsyth
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Jaeger, Elizabeth, "The Achievement Ideology and Vulnerable Readers" (2016). Curriculum Studies Summer Collaborative. 46.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cssc/2016/2016/46
The Achievement Ideology and Vulnerable Readers
Forsyth
The study described in this proposal is a critical content analysis of the fourth grade level text from Reading Wonders (2014), the latest reading series published by McGraw-Hill. I employ as my theoretical frame what MacLeod (2009) terms the achievement ideology. This ideology, states MacLeod, is the “social perspective that sees American society as open and fair and full of opportunity. In this view, success is based on merit, and economic inequality is due to differences in ambition and ability” (p. 3). In describing critical content analysis, Beach, et al. (2009) explain that “what makes a study ‘critical’ is not the methodology but the framework used to think within, through, and beyond the text” (p. 130). The method itself is more generally termed content analysis, a research approach in which “the content of a text is interpreted through a process of coding and identifying themes or patterns . . . using analytical constructs from theories or research” (Beach, et al., p. 129). Results of the study demonstrated that the text promoted what might be termed a “culture of success,” championing such values as industry, self-control, risk-taking, and innovation. The second primary finding was that, despite a coherent emphasis on success, the text was so difficult that it would be hard for average readers—much less those who struggle—to succeed in reading it. Results of this study could play a significant role in alerting potential adopters of the limitations of this curriculum.
