Reading and Interpretive Response to Literary Text: Drawing Upon Sociocultural Perspective

Abstract

Students read text through the sociocultural perspective from which they emerge. They interpret the text that is read through personal and cultural cues, through experiences acquired within a particular cultural context. When no cultural cues are familiar, students have difficulty identifying with and understanding literary text. In literacy-related activities, the meaning derived by one reader may differ drastically from the meaning gleaned by another. This article reports on a study designed to ascertain whether diverse students draw upon their sociocultural perspective during oral reading and during interpretive responses of literary text. Findings of this study suggest the need to make room for students’ personal interpretations of literary text as evidence of African American students’ engagement, metacognition, and draw upon sociocultural perspective. Discussion centers on the importance of sociocultural perspective in documenting reading performance and academic progress.