Preferred writing topics of urban and rural middle school students.This study compared the preferred writing topics of urban and rural middle school students. Eighth graders (n = 205) responded to a brief survey of preferred writing topics in the descriptive writing genres of real or imagined stories, reports, and opinions. While some preferred writing topics were divergent di·ver·gent adj. 1. Drawing apart from a common point; diverging. 2. Departing from convention. 3. Differing from another: a divergent opinion. 4. such as society, crime, and violence, more topics were noted as overlapping. Findings indicate that the major overlapping topics for both rural and urban participants included current events, teen issues, politics, school, and celebrities. Interestingly, the commonality com·mon·al·i·ty n. pl. com·mon·al·i·ties 1. a. The possession, along with another or others, of a certain attribute or set of attributes: a political movement's commonality of purpose. of adolescence adolescence, time of life from onset of puberty to full adulthood. The exact period of adolescence, which varies from person to person, falls approximately between the ages 12 and 20 and encompasses both physiological and psychological changes. seems to be more salient in preference of writing topic than does location in which one receives an education. Implications for classroom writing topic preferences are discussed. ********** Literacy is the ability to read, write, spell, listen, and speak in ways that enable communication, promote understanding of ideas, and enrich lives (Moats, 2000; Glaeser, Lenz, Gildroy, & McKnight, 2000). Literacy may be the most important educational goal for which teachers are responsible (Moats). In fact, the National Institute of Student Health and Human Development views literacy and reading failure in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. as a national health crisis (Lyon Lyon English Lyons City (pop., 1999: city, 445,452; metro. area, 1,348,932), east-central France. Located at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, it was founded as the Roman military colony Lugdunum in 43 BC (see , 1999). Academic success, employment, and personal health depend upon an individual's ability to understand their culture's language system and use it effectively. Using any language system effectively clearly includes the ability to express thoughts and ideas in written form. Written expression is a complex metacognitive process that draws on multiple skills such as use of correct syntax syntax: see grammar. syntax Arrangement of words in sentences, clauses, and phrases, and the study of the formation of sentences and the relationship of their component parts. , semantics semantics [Gr.,=significant] in general, the study of the relationship between words and meanings. The empirical study of word meanings and sentence meanings in existing languages is a branch of linguistics; the abstract study of meaning in relation to language or , the writing process, and content knowledge (Walker, Shippen Ship´pen n. 1. A stable; a cowhouse. , Alberto, Houchins, & Cihak, 2005). Each of these broader skills is based on multiple sub-skills. For example, the writing process has multiple steps (e.g., prewriting pre·writ·ing n. The creation and arrangement of ideas preliminary to writing. , writing, revising, editing, and publishing) and requires explicit instruction. For the purposes of this study we focused on content knowledge as it emanates from preference or interest in the writing topic as a sub skill of written expression. Writing Topic Preference and Interest Few studies have investigated the writing topic preferences or interest of students (McCutchen, 1986; Voss & Schauble, 1992). However, research on writing topic preference has indicated that allowing student choice or preference is critical to student engagement and writing production (Flowerday, Schraw, & Stevens, 2004; Langer, 1984). Further, researchers have indicated that interest combined with topic knowledge can enhance lower performing students' written expression (Recht & Leslie, 1988). These studies suggest that knowledge of topic may even be more salient than previous writing performance or aptitude. Kellog (1987) further suggested that the more an individual knows about the topic, the more automatic s/he can be in written expression. Conversely con·verse 1 intr.v. con·versed, con·vers·ing, con·vers·es 1. To engage in a spoken exchange of thoughts, ideas, or feelings; talk. See Synonyms at speak. 2. , Hidi and McLaren (1991) concluded that the motivational power of interesting topics is confounded with the role of previous knowledge. After an extensive review of the literature, studies investigating the impact of student interest, topic knowledge, and writing performance related to student choice were noted (McCutchen, 1986; Voss & Schauble, 1992; Recht & Leslie, 1988), however no studies surveying middle school students about their topic preferences were located. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the preferred writing topics identified by urban and rural middle school students and to analyze whether these topics were convergent or divergent. The analysis of actual participant writing samples was beyond the scope of this study. Method Participants Participants were eighth grade students in urban (n = 109) and rural (n = 96) settings. All participants in the urban school were African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. . Participants from the rural school were 67% European American A European American (Euro-American) is a person who resides in the United States and is either the descendant of European immigrants or from Europe him/herself.[1] Overall, as the largest group, European Americans have the lowest poverty rate [2] , 13% African American, 7% Hispanic, 7% multiracial mul·ti·ra·cial adj. 1. Made up of, involving, or acting on behalf of various races: a multiracial society. 2. Having ancestors of several or various races. , and 6% Asian. Gender data were not collected for the participants in this study. Setting The urban middle school was located in a large southeastern U.S. inner-city school district. During the study, the school had an enrollment of 650 students, which consisted of 99% African-American, and less than 1% of any other racial or ethnic category. The gender of the school population was evenly distributed 50% male and 50% female. Ten percent of students in the school had identified disabilities and 76% of the students received free and reduced meals. At the time of the study, the urban school was a Title Reading I school and listed as "needs improvement" by the state department of education. The rural middle school was located in a rural area of a southeastern U.S. state A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States, although four states use the official title "commonwealth". The separate state governments and the federal government share sovereignty, in that an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and . During the study the school had an enrollment of 823 students, which consisted of 66% Caucasian, 22% African American, Hispanic 6%, Asian 4%, and Multiracial 2%. Fifteen percent of students in the school had identified disabilities and 40% of the students received free and reduced meals. No school population gender data were available for the rural school. At the time of the study, the rural school was not a Title I school and was listed as a "meets expectations school" by the state department of education. Procedures and Materials A one-page survey document was distributed in eighth grade Language Arts language arts pl.n. The subjects, including reading, spelling, and composition, aimed at developing reading and writing skills, usually taught in elementary and secondary school. classes at both the urban and rural school. The survey consisted of a stem and three columns prompting the participants to record three preferred writing topics for each of the three genres (e.g., real or imagined story, report, and opinion). Figure 1 provides the reader with an illustration of the writing topic preference survey. Students at both the urban and rural school completed the survey and returned them to the teacher during one class session. The survey took approximately 10 minutes to complete. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Data Analysis and Results Participant survey responses were compiled into one data set per setting (e.g., an urban data set and a rural data set). Three independent trained raters grouped the participant responses of writing topic preferences into categories from each respective data set. The raters analyzed an·a·lyze tr.v. an·a·lyzed, an·a·lyz·ing, an·a·lyz·es 1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations. 2. Chemistry To make a chemical analysis of. 3. the responses submitted through the survey using the constant comparative method of analysis. Developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967), the constant comparative method of analysis allows the researcher to develop themes that are grounded in the data, yielding grounded theory. This qualitative method is an inductive inductive 1. eliciting a reaction within an organism. 2. inductive heating a form of radiofrequency hyperthermia that selectively heats muscle, blood and proteinaceous tissue, sparing fat and air-containing tissues. process where themes or categories emerge from data (Merriam, 1998). The raters in this study used open-coding to identify the emerging themes. The responses in each genre (e.g., real or imagined story, report, and opinion) were carefully analyzed to determine commonalities within the category. Raters established identifying labels for each set of common themes in the genre. For example, in the real or imagined story genre participants submitted responses including "magic power", "If I was a psychic psychic /psy·chic/ (si´kik) 1. pertaining to the psyche. 2. mental (1). psy·chic adj. 1. ", "magic", "life as a vampire vampire, in folklore, animated corpse that sucks the blood of humans. Belief in vampires has existed from the earliest times and has given rise to an amalgam of legends and superstitions. " and "spell casters casters the small rubber wheels on surgical trolleys, patient stretchers, mobile equipment. conductive casters the casters are impregnated with carbon to facilitate the dispersal of static electricity from equipment. and magic". A theme of The Supernatural Supernatural Twilight Zone, The tales of weird events involving ordinary people. [Am. Radio, TV, & Cinema: The Twilight Zone in Terrace] emerged from these and other related responses. This process was repeated in the two remaining genre areas for both urban and rural participant responses. After the analysis of the three genre areas was complete and emergent emergent /emer·gent/ (e-mer´jent) 1. coming out from a cavity or other part. 2. pertaining to an emergency. emergent 1. coming out from a cavity or other part. 2. coming on suddenly. themes had been identified, the independent raters conducted a cross-categorical analysis of topics that appeared consistently in all three genres. Themes from those cross-categorical topics emerged and were identified in a fourth category group. It is important to note that topics submitted which did not fit into a clear theme were not considered. The themes tables of the three raters were subsequently compared to determine if similar themes had emerged in each genre across raters. Themes consistently identified by all three raters were maintained as the final data set reflective Refers to light hitting an opaque surface such as a printed page or mirror and bouncing back. See reflective media and reflective LCD. of the writing topic preferences of middle school students in urban and rural settings. See Tables 3 for final rater rat·er n. 1. One that rates, especially one that establishes a rating. 2. One having an indicated rank or rating. Often used in combination: a third-rater; a first-rater. identified themes. Urban Middle School Results In the real or imagined story genre, the themes that emerged for writing preference were outer space, vacations, winning the lottery lottery, scheme for distributing prizes by lot or other method of chance selection to persons who have paid for the opportunity to win. The term is not applicable when lots are drawn without payment by the interested parties to determine some matter, e.g. , future (careers), fears (memorable experiences), celebrities, and fairy tales This is a list of fairy tales, the dates of their earliest known printed version, the author and, if known, the collection of tales in which it was published. It should be noted, however, that not all stories listed below would be categorized as fairy tales by a strict definition . Example responses in the future (careers) theme included: "my dreams", "if I went to college", and "graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. ". For the theme of fears (memorable) participants included responses like: "scariest moment", "Granny's passing", and "most painful moment". For the report genre, emerging themes identified were politics, black history, school (education), famous people, presidents, and entertainment. Many responses in the black history category, for example, related to historical figures like "Martin Luther King" and "Frederick Douglass" and historical events like "The Black Holocaust Holocaust (hŏl`əkôst', hō`lə–), name given to the period of persecution and extermination of European Jews by Nazi Germany. " and "The Civil Rights Movement". The politics theme included responses related to "war in Iraq", "taxes", and "voting". The opinion genre yielded themes of dress code, teachers, school lunch, voting, money, and rules. Responses related to money covered various topics including "children working", "why college costs so much", and "the cost of food". "Curfew curfew [O.Fr.,=cover fire], originally a signal, such as the ringing of a bell, to damp the fire, extinguish all lights in the dwelling, and retire for the night. The custom originated as a precaution against fires and was common throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. " and "kids being able to smoke" were some items listed in the rules theme. The independent raters found that common themes for writing preference across all three categories for students in the urban setting were politics, current events, teen issues, school related topics, and entertainment. Rural Middle School Results In the real or imagined story genre, themes that emerged were the supernatural, living in another time, being famous, book characters, slavery slavery, institution based on a relationship of dominance and submission, whereby one person owns another and can exact from that person labor or other services. , and winning the lottery. Topics listed in the living in another time theme included "going into the future" and "time travel". For book characters, participant responses included: "Bob the builder's big adventure" and "leprechauns". The report genre yielded themes of violence/murder, crimes, mafia, politics, slavery, historical figures, college, and famous people. Participants listed "Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (born November 12, 1934) is a career criminal who led the so-called Manson Family, a commune or cult that began to form around him in the U.S. city of San Francisco in 1967. ", "serial killers serial killer Forensic psychiatry A person who commits serial murders Prototypic SK White ♂ age 30; 97% are ♂; 80% are sociopaths. See Dahmer, Depraved heart murder, Ice Man. Cf Megan's law, Son of Sam law. ", and "early 1990' crime scenes" as responses for the theme crimes. The slavery theme included topics like "the underground railroad Underground Railroad, in U.S. history, loosely organized system for helping fugitive slaves escape to Canada or to areas of safety in free states. It was run by local groups of Northern abolitionists, both white and free blacks. " and questions like "Why did there ever have to be slavery?" as responses. In the opinion genre, the themes identified were war in Iraq, dress code, abortion, sex, drugs, same sex marriage, school rules, and teen issues. "Modest clothing" and "school uniforms" were popular responses in the dress code theme. While the teen issues theme yielded responses including: "drugs, drinking, and teen pregnancy", "driving laws for teens", and "being pregnant". The independent raters identified celebrities, money, society, crime, violence, school, politics, and teen issues as cross-categorical themes emerging from topics submitted by rural middle school students. Discussion The purpose of this study was to compare the preferred writing topics identified by urban and rural middle school students and to analyze whether these topics were convergent or divergent. The data presented in this study indicate more convergence on writing topic preference between rural and urban middle school students than divergence divergence In mathematics, a differential operator applied to a three-dimensional vector-valued function. The result is a function that describes a rate of change. The divergence of a vector v is given by . Perhaps the commonality of adolescence is more salient than the type of environment one lives or receives an education. It could be that the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development of adolescents influence their writing interests more then their rural or urban settings. Social influences such as peer groups, the media, and social fads are very prevalent at this age (Santrock, 2003). Adolescents whether rural or urban may watch the same television programs, see the same advertisements, and listen to the same music. The common writing topics of the war in Iraq, abortion, and same sex marriage are issues currently portrayed por·tray tr.v. por·trayed, por·tray·ing, por·trays 1. To depict or represent pictorially; make a picture of. 2. To depict or describe in words. 3. To represent dramatically, as on the stage. in the news media. The writing interests of youth may be driven by what they see and hear in the media. These writing interests are temporal Having to do with time. Contrast with "spatial," which deals with space. in nature. Had this study been conducted with students during the 1960's, writing topics of interest might have included the Vietnam war Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. , civil rights, and the race to space. These findings also support the idea that the writing interests of students are related to the biological changes in adolescents. Adolescents are developing personal beliefs, attitudes, and values at this stage in their lives (Santrock, 2003). Issues such as sex, drugs, school rules, and generic teen matters are of concern to adolescents. Dealing with the development of their sexuality, self-determination, morals, values, and emotions are common topics of concern for maturing youth. Again, the core topics of interest to youth have probably not changed much over the years. One could imagine that the maturation maturation /mat·u·ra·tion/ (mach-u-ra´shun) 1. the process of becoming mature. 2. attainment of emotional and intellectual maturity. 3. issues of today would be similar to those in previous years. This study provides teachers with information on what topics are of interest to students whether rural or urban. The middle school students in this study reported interest in writing about social, political, and personal issues. Teachers who use these topics in their classroom may increase student writing since they appear motivational to students. The authors of this study interpret this reporting of topic preference by these participants as encouraging for educators. Educators should take note that students are interested in critical societal so·ci·e·tal adj. Of or relating to the structure, organization, or functioning of society. so·ci  e·tal·ly adv.Adj. issues as well as their everyday personal experiences such as school lunches, dress code, and entertainment. Allowing students to write about sociological and personal topics could support the development of critical analyses (Recht & Leslie, 1988). Future research should investigate whether topics selected by rural and urban students continue to be aligned. Also writing topic preference by gender and school level (e.g., elementary, middle, and high school) should be addressed in future research. Allowing students to explore their interests and preferences may increase their development of written expression; however, more research is needed on topic preference and its link to writing performance. References Flowerday T., Schraw, G., & Stevens, J. (2004). The role of choice and interest in reader engagement. The Journal of Experimental Education, 72(2), 93-114. Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research Qualitative research Traditional analysis of firm-specific prospects for future earnings. It may be based on data collected by the analysts, there is no formal quantitative framework used to generate projections. . Chicago: Aldine. Glaeser, B. J., Lenz, B. K., Gildroy, P. G., & McKnight, M. (2000). The development of literacy: As reading instruction begins (Module 1, Lesson 1). In Beginning word reading [Online[??] Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas The University of Kansas (often referred to as KU or just Kansas) is an institution of higher learning in Lawrence, Kansas. The main campus resides atop Mount Oread. , Center for Research on Learning. Available: www. onlineacademy.org Kellog, R. T. (1987). Effects of topic knowledge on the allocation The apportionment or designation of an item for a specific purpose or to a particular place. In the law of trusts, the allocation of cash dividends earned by a stock that makes up the principal of a trust for a beneficiary usually means that the dividends will be treated as of processing time and cognitive effort to writing processes. Memory & Cognition cognition Act or process of knowing. Cognition includes every mental process that may be described as an experience of knowing (including perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, and reasoning), as distinguished from an experience of feeling or of willing. , 15, 255-266. Langer. J. A. (1984). The effects of available information on responses to school writing tasks. Research in the Teaching of English, 18, 27-44. Lyon, R. G. (1999). The NICHD NICHD National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. research program in reading development, reading disorders reading disorder See Dyslexia, Reading disability. and reading instruction. Retrieved August 25, 1999 from http://www.ncld.org/summit99/ keys99-nichd.htm McCutchen, D. (1986). Domain knowledge and linguistic knowledge in the development of writing ability. Journal of Memory and Language, 25, 431-444. Merriam. S.B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education.San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden : Jossey-Bass Publishers. Moats, L. C. (2000). Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Santrock, J. W. (2003) Adolescence (9th Ed). Dubuque, IA: W. C. Brown. Voss, J.E, & Schauble, L. (1992). Is interest educationally interesting? An interest-related model of learning. In K.A. Renninger, S. Hidi, A. Krapp (Eds.), The role of interest in learning and development (pp. 101-120). Hillsdale, NF: Erlbaum. Walker, B., Shippen, M.E., Alberto, P. A., Houchins, D. E., & Cihak, D. F. (2005). Using the expressive writing program to improve the writing skills of high school students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 20(3), 175-183. Margaret E. Shippen, Department of Rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. and Special Education, Auburn University Auburn University, main campus at Auburn, Ala.; land-grant and state supported; opened 1859 as East Alabama Male College, reorganized 1872 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama; became coeducational 1892; renamed Alabama Polytechnic Institute 1899, . David E. Houchins, Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, Georgia State University History Georgia State University was founded in 1913 as the Georgia School of Technology's "School of Commerce." The school focused on what was called "the new science of business. . DaShaunda Puckett and Michelle Ramsey, Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, Georgia State University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Margaret E. Shippen, Department of Rehabilitation and Special Education, Auburn University; Email: shippme@aubum.edu
Table 1
Preferred Writing Topic Themes from Urban Students
Urban Student Themes
Real or Imagined Story Report Opinion
Movies Black history School lunches
Vacation Presidents Teenage life
Fairy tales Sports Voting
Foreign countries Teenage social Dress code
pressures
Family Music Principal
If I won the lottery Elections Teachers
Most fearful/painful School School dances
memories
Outer space Biography of a Music
famous person
Future career Movies/TV Monetary issues
Celebrities Animals Tests
Space travel Family Education
Fantasy Race Politics
A day in the life ... Food Economy
Fiction books Historical figures Entertainment
Fears Historical events Rules
Death Politics School time
Political figures Hygiene School rules
Entertainment Weather Driving and age
Memorable moments War in Iraq Scheduling
School Abortion President
Future Parents
Money
Fantasy
Food
Urban Student Themes
Real or Imagined Story Themes across
Categories
Movies Rules and laws
Vacation Entertainment
Fairy tales Unusual events
Foreign countries Cooperation/teamwork
Family School
If I won the lottery Relationships
Most fearful/painful Social events
memories
Outer space Current events
Future career Travel
Celebrities Education
Space travel War
Fantasy Politics
A day in the life ... Iraq
Fiction books School lunches
Fears Teen issues
Death Monetary issues
Political figures Celebrities
Entertainment Family
Memorable moments Election
School Music
Future
Money
Fantasy
Food
Table 2
Preferred Writing Topic Themes from Rural Students
Rural Student Themes
Real or Imagined Story Report Opinion
Supernatural Slavery Teen pregnancy
Slavery Mafia School
Time travel Crimes Politics
Celebrities Violence/murder Slavery
Book Characters entertainers Clothes
Future Athletes War in Iraq
Being famous College School rules
Living in another time Historical figures Dress code
Fairy tales Politics Teen driving
Magic Slavery Same sex marriage
Winning the lottery Death Abortion
Being able to fly Teen issues Religion
Government September 11th Movies
Heroes Government Sex
Famous people Drugs
School
Wars
Rural Student Themes
Real or Imagined Story Themes Across
Categories
Supernatural Slavery
Slavery Crimes
Time travel Violence
Celebrities Entertainers
Book Characters Celebrities
Future Teens
Being famous Society
Living in another time School
Fairy tales History
Magic Politics
Winning the lottery Murder
Being able to fly Money
Government Sports
Heroes
Table 3
Overlapping Preferred Writing Topic Themes for Urban and Rural
Participants
Overlapping Participant Themes
Real or Imagined Story Report Opinion
Supernatural Education Teen issues (driving,
pregnancy)
Books and Characters Entertainers War in Iraq
(Famous people)
The Future History School (teachers and
rules)
Winning the lottery Politics Politics
Celebrities Slavery Dress code
Being famous
Overlapping
Participant Themes
Real or Imagined Story Themes Across
Categories
Supernatural Current events
Books and Characters Teen issues
The Future Entertainers
(Celebrities)
Winning the lottery School
Celebrities Politics
Being famous Money
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