Research

Research Agenda

Our goal is to understand the nature of literacy and how it is developed in human beings. We want to understand literacy as a sign system for communication as well as way for human beings to participate in complex thought. We want to engage each citizen in the democratic process and the only way to do this is through literacy.

To that end, The American Literacy Society will engage in research that will assess how we learn and we will seek the best methods to ensure that learning.

We will partner with schools, universities, research organizations, business people, politicians, and clergy of every faith to build the literacy of those with whom we come in contact. Thus, our research agenda is twofold:

1. We want to focus on building the literacy of the most underserved citizens in our population, African American males. Many African American male students begin to disengage with school and with literacy events early in elementary school. Furthermore, school environments often present themselves as entities that are barriers to student success. We will participate in research that seeks to understand why African American male students disengage with school and with literacy and we will present solutions to improve school environments. Also, we will use learning and literacy theories as our frameworks and we will present our findings to peer reviewed journals, magazines, and publish our research in books.
2. We want to engage adults in the literacy engagement process. Educators and other professional and certificated adults will be engaged in research to learn how to build literacy for others around them. Additionally, adults who wish to be engaged in the process of building literacy who have not had any formal training, will also have the opportunity to participate. As an organization, we will conduct quantitative and qualitative research that assesses how adults build literacy. Through this, we will create opportunities that allow adults to fully engage in the democratic process through literacy.

Research is an integral component of understanding the complex process of literacy development and engagement. As a result of this belief, we will ensure that all activities in which we engage will be research-based and/or aligned to our research agenda.