| As a mother, an educator and a Jamaican, I have been particularly concerned, about the generally unsatisfactory academic performance of male learners in the Jamaican education system. This concern, with both the historical and contemporary situation, with regards to literacy, has increased across the years. I now fear for our children's future if this literacy learning crisis is allowed to persist. Beyond my concerns, individual researchers have dedicated considerable time and the Jamaican Ministry of Education has expended large sums of monies in attempts to address this literacy crisis among young Jamaican males. However, there still exists a lack of understanding of the core literacy non-acquisition issues facing many male learners.;So, I elected to focus not on why male students fail, but rather on why and how some do succeed? I asked, "Why are some males achieving academic success, particularly in literacy-reading and writing, while others are not?" I embraced the methodology of Appreciative Inquiry and with the study's male sample population operating as co-participants, the study become very productive. The results provide themes reflecting many of the success factors named in the world literacy-relevant literature reviewed. The study's themes confirmed: the need for early and prolonged parental involvement in children's schooling and learning, the importance of literacy learning and being taught decoding literacy-reader skills, and the need for a positive relationship between literacy immersion and literacy success. Educators should note that the study's participants emphasized that the freedom to choose both reading materials and the form of verbal, written or other responses to these materials impacted their literacy success positively.;This thesis expresses the hope that the participants' stories will motivate parents, teachers, educational and political leaders and other learners – particularly males – to help change the literacy learning landscape of Jamaica.;As Jamaicans, let us be resolute that we can and will address these literacy issues currently harming our children. As Jamaicans, let us be imaginative and produce creative solutions to these literacy issues plaguing our nations. As Jamaicans, let us be confident in the ability of the Jamaican educator to teach, and our children to learn, how to become literate, independent and enfranchised citizens.;As a career educator and as a mother whose two children – a girl and a boy – have excelled within the Jamaican education system, I was convinced that the problem of understanding what is causing this literacy crisis phenomenon could be solved. Therefore, when I was afforded the opportunity to pursue doctoral studies, I decided to engage with this national crisis involving young male learners in the Jamaican school system. Additionally, I decided not to replicate previous research in this area. Therefore, I shifted my methodological approach and focus from the traditional forms of research – predominantly quantitative. My decision was influenced by the fact that quantitative methodologies primarily document degrees of failure or poverty within a phenomenon, especially in developing, post-colonial nations. |
