Communication Across the Silos and Borders: The Culture of Reading in a Community College

Abstract

As part of a study (Armstrong, Stahl, & Kantner, 2015a, 2015b, 2016) of curricular alignment between developmental reading (DR) and introductory-level general education (GE) at one community college, we asked faculty participants about the DR coursework at their own institution. Throughout data analysis, we became interested in how non-DR faculty understood reading at the college level, and especially what a major role lack of communication seemed to play in these understandings. We identified five major themes in the faculty responses: reading comprehension, vocabulary instruction, emphasis on writing, study skills instruction, and disciplinary literacy instruction. In this article, we detail each theme through exemplar responses coded in this category, a discussion, and recommendations for professionals within the DR (and surrounding) fields striving to build bridges to others on campus. Our intention is to initiate a conversation related to the issue of communication between DR and other higher education professionals, as we see value in DR faculty having this insight regarding how others on campus view their work.

KEYWORDS:

• community college
• developmental reading
• literacy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sonya L. Armstrong

Sonya L. Armstrong, EdD, is an Associate Professor in the Graduate Program in Developmental Education at Texas State University, where she also serves as the director of the Doctoral Program. She earned her doctorate in literacy education with a focus on postsecondary literacy from the University of Cincinnati.

Norman A. Stahl

Norman A. Stahl, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Literacy Education at Northern Illinois University with earlier service at Georgia State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and San Francisco State University. His PhD in Language Communications was awarded by the University of Pittsburgh. He has been the President of the Literacy Research Association, the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, and the College Reading and Learning Association. He is a CLADEA National Fellow.