THE INFLUENCE OF MASCULINITY ON READING ENGAGEMENT IN BLACK BOYS IN KINDERGARTEN -5th GRADE: AN ANALYSIS OF INSTRUCTIONAL BIAS AND ON TASK LEARNING BEHAVIORS

While there are other root causes to the deficit of reading in Black boys, there is a paucity of research on masculinity and the influence it may carry to reading engagement. This study examines the influence of masculinity as a form of instructional bias on reading engagement via on-task learning in Black boys enrolled in (K-5th) urban schools. It seeks to determine the extent to which introspection of biased instructional practices is reflected in culturally responsive pedagogy. It further reviews the impact of peer observation and adult collaboration in a unique context of schooling. While Blackness has always worked to signify its own identity in a critical and racist society, it has also taken own its identity in the social development of Black boys in school settings. I argue that the perceptions, interpretations, values, and ideologies of masculinity plays a role in how Black boys interact with comprehensive texts and other forms of literacy, due to representation of masculinity in reading curricular. Discovering direct and indirect influences of instructional bias on reading engagement via interviews, surveys, and observations of teachers in urban elementary schools can add to the health and well-being to the students they serve.