The Attitudes of Young Black Adults Towards Reading

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of four socio-educational factors (sex of teachers, race of teachers, geographic location of schools, and degree of mobility during schooling) and the current attitudes toward reading of fifty young, urban Black adults. Need for the study was prompted by discrepancies in the reading test scores and percent of functional illiteracy by an over-representative number of Black students. Fifty young, Black adults who presently reside in a city in northern New York were selected to be interviewed. They ranged in age from 18 to 24 years, and had various socio-educational experiences. An attitude scale and an information form were administered to the subjects at various community locations. The scores of the attitude survey were analyzed to determine the degree of positive and/or negative attitude toward reading. Correlations between socio-educational factors and scores on the attitude survey were investigated. Responses to the descriptive questions provided information about the reading experiences of the subjects. After testing four null hypotheses no significant correlations were found between the four socio-educational factors and attitudes toward reading. Reported changes in attitude toward reading were positive. The schooling process, parental influences, and parents' attitudes toward reading were cited as factors influencing attitude toward reading.