Culturally Relevant Reading Material as Related to Comprehension and Recall in African American Children

Abstract

This research examined the effects of racial imagery (Black and White characters) and cultural themes (African American and Euro-American) in reading content on comprehension and recall in African American children. The participants, consisting of 109 elementary school children attending a developmental research school in Tallahassee, Florida, listened to prerecorded stories while attending to an accompanying story manuscript. The participants were assigned to one of three treatment groups. Participants in Story Treatment Condition I listened to a story composed of Black characters and African Americans themes; participants in Story Treatment Condition II experienced a story with White characters and traditional/Euro-American themes; and participants in Story Treatment Condition III were exposed to a story with Black characters and traditional Euro-American themes. After the presentation of the story, participants were asked six questions designed to elicit their recall of the story's characters and events and their level of comprehension of the story. It was hypothesized that stories depicting Black characters would facilitate more efficient recall and comprehension than stories depicting White characters. The results provided support for this hypothesis regarding comprehension although the hypothesis pertaining to recall was not supported. Additionally, the data analysis revealed significantfindings in support of the hypothesis that the stories reflecting themes consistent with the sociocultural experiences of African Americans would have a facilitating effect on recall and comprehension in African American children. The findings are discussed as supportive of the facilitative effects of culturalfactors on reading in African American children.