Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
5-1997
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Major
Curriculum and Instruction
Major Professor
Theodora Hipple
Committee Members
Collen Gilrane, Lester Knight, John Ray
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to discover as much as could be discovered about young adult literature courses at the college/university level. It examined the teaching methodologies used by professors, the core novels and text books used in their classes, and the themes, genres, and topics they explored. It also looked at the young adult literature organizations professors encouraged their students to join.
A mail survey approach was used for data collection. The sample for this study consisted of young adult literature instructors who are members of ALAN, the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English. Of the 87 professors who were contacted, 70 returned questionnaires which netted a response rate of 80%. The survey instrument was three pages long and included 14 close-ended probes concerning the general design of young adult literature courses.
A statistical analysis revealed that young adult literature courses are intended to do either one or both of two things: familiarize students with young adult literature and/or serve as teaching methods courses. The analysis also showed that a majority of university/college level young adult literature professors use core novels (novels read by every member of the class) in their courses. The five most common core novels used are The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, and Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers. Text books are also incorporated into the class by most of the professors with the most frequent one being Literature for Today's Young Adults by Donelson and Nilsen.
Instructors of young adult literature courses use a variety of teaching methodologies in their classes. The most popular teaching strategy employed is whole class discussion. All of the participants indicated that this teaching methodology is one they practice. The use of cooperative learning groups as a teaching strategy is also a popular approach as are oral or written student reports.
Most young adult literature courses are designed to address several issues pertinent to young adult literature. The topic addressed most often is censorship. Responses to literature and selection of young adult novels for use in schools are popular topics explored in young adult literature courses as well.
Less than half of the respondents indicated that they teach young adult literature by genre and/or theme. Those professors who teach by genre focus on realistic fiction, which is a prominent characteristic of young adult literature. Historical fiction and nonfiction are genres that receive a great deal of attention in young adult literature courses as well. Of those who plan the layout of their courses around themes, death and dying, alienation and identity, and peer pressure are the most prevalent.
A final defining characteristic of the overall design of college/university level young adult literature courses is the requirement that students enrolled in these classes become familiar with adolescent literature journals and organizations such as the National Council for Teachers of English's affiliate ALAN, the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents and the International Reading Association's affiliate SIGNAL, the Special Interest Group on Literature for the Adolescent Reader.
Recommended Citation
Comer, Melissa Jean Reese, "A national survey to determine the status of the design and teaching techniques of young adult literature courses at the college or university level. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1997.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/9460