Literacy Identity and Experiences of College Students Diagnosed with Reading Disabilities

Abstract

As an increasing number of students diagnosed with reading disabilities enter higher education, it is the task of university faculty, staff, and administrators to determine how to best support this diverse group. Understanding the unique literacy identity and experiences of these students can empower and engage educators in creating a more accessible and inclusive academic setting. This qualitative multiple case study explores the literacy identity of five college students diagnosed with reading disabilities and how experiences with Miscue Analysis (Goodman, Watson, & Burke, 2005) contributes to their literacy identity. According to this study, college students with reading disabilities develop complex literacy and disability identities in childhood influenced by their positive and negative experiences in the home and school settings. These experiences affect their beliefs about themselves as readers, learners, and individuals with disabilities into adulthood. However, these students can revalue their literacy identity through engagement with Miscue Analysis. Retrospective Miscue Analysis (RMA) and Collaborative Retrospective Miscue Analysis (CRMA) provide the opportunity for these readers to learn about their meaning making processes and themselves as readers. CRMA provides an avenue for these students to connect with peers through their mutual experiences and develop confidence and agency. Other implications of this study include using a disability interpretive lens and social model of disability in the home and school settings to assist students with reading disabilities in developing a positive literacy identity and development of literacy centers in the college setting to support them in revaluing their literacy identity and learning more about their reading processes.