COLLEGE OF EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Texas A&M University

Educational Doctoral Student Looks For Reading Motivation

In Children And Adults

11/20/06

By Jenna Kujawski

Corrine Wickens, a doctoral student in the teaching, learning and culture department, was honored as a Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) research fellow.

"Being a TCALL fellow allows me the opportunity to make connections between usually highly disparate traditional teacher education and adult literacy programs," Wickens said. "I hope to build bridges. While a K-12 educator by training, I view literacy as a lifelong process that proceeds from early childhood through adolescence to adulthood."

Dominique Chlup, director of TCALL, said that committee members were very impressed with Wickens' interest in family literacy and her strong desire to study African American fathers and their connections to literacy, schooling and their children. She already has an extensive track record of publications and conference presentations in the field of adult education.

Wickens' research will focus on intergenerational reading difficulties as they impact motivation for reading and learning. She will conduct case study examinations of families that include parents and children who demonstrate trouble with reading, and investigate how that affects the child's literacy development as well as the overall family dynamics.

"As a literacy educator, I attend to the way that children's early experiences with reading impact their reading experiences in upper grades and on into their adult lives," Wickens said. "But it doesn't stop there. As parents, those same adults transmit their feelings and attitudes about reading to their children, which is the reason behind my current research project."

Before coming to graduate school, Wickens taught high school reading and English/Language Arts. She worked with ninth graders who read at fifth grade reading levels.

"I could help them pass the state mandated test, but I couldn't get them to graduate high school," Wickens said. "They had too many obstacles when it came to reading and learning in their core classes. That really developed my passion for helping struggling readers of all ages and teaching preservice teachers how to help those students as well."

In its second year, the TCALL Research Fellows provides monetary support and guidance to doctoral students with an interest in adult learning and literacy. A major benefit of the program is that students don't have to reside on the College Station campus to take advantage of the research and networking opportunities.

2006-2007 TCALL Fellows include (from left to right) Corrine Wickens and Stacy Herring.

2006-2007 TCALL Fellows include (from left to right) Corrine Wickens and Stacy Herring.

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