Adults’ Remembered Stories of Early-Grades Reading Groups: A Narrative Inquiry

This study examined literacy narratives composed by participants aged 18 to 71 to learn how they remembered, described, and constructed stories about their experiences in ability-based reading groups when they were children learning to read in public schools. The purpose of this study was to add voices and perspectives to a decades-long debate over the varied impacts of using ability-based reading groups that separate children by skill level, particularly with regard to connections to learner academic and literacy self-perception and the perpetuation of systemic social inequity. The study was grounded in a critical pedagogy theoretical foundation and employed a narrative inquiry research design. The participants’ literacy narratives and post-composition meeting conversations largely echoed the body of research that shows students placed in high-ability groups typically enjoy positive or neutral experiences and outcomes, while students in lower groups recall more negative emotions and outcomes. In addition, the participant data aligned with research that has demonstrated that children from low-income backgrounds and members of historically minoritized populations are disproportionately represented in lower groups, regardless of measures of skill level or ability.