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Is There Space for Black Girls? Elementary-aged Black Girls' Ethnic-Racial Identity Development and Literacy Practices in a Literacy Collaborative

Kristy Girardeau
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Abstract

There has been a lack of research regarding elementary-aged Black girls’ identity development and their literacy practices. This qualitative study sought to understand how elementary-aged Black girls developed their ethnic-racial identity (Umana-Taylor et al., 2014) and used digital tools (e.g., fanschool and Book buildr) to negotiate their identities and enact their literacies in an out-of-school literacy collaborative. Three elementary-aged Black girls, who live within a large metropolitan city in the Southeast region of the United States participated in the study. The girls met in a shared physical location, but learning took place in both an online and face-to-face formats. The author drew upon Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000), Ethnic-Racial Identity Development (Umana-Taylor et al., 2014), and Critical Literacy (Lewison et al., 2002) as guiding frameworks. These frameworks provided critical ways to examine and explore how Black girls negotiated their identities and literacies using digital tools in an out-of-school space. To gain a deeper understanding of how Black girls understood themselves individually and collectively in this collaborative space, the author employed an embedded, single case study design. Data sources included expanded researcher memos, interviews, written artifacts, and digital artifacts. Data analysis was guided by thematic analysis methods (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Grbich, 2013). The findings from this study revealed that curriculum that is grounded in Black women histories and reimagined spaces for Black girls that foster collaboration and relationship-building contributes to their ERI development in a literacy collaborative. In addition, Black girls use digital tools for self-expression, to amplify their voices, and empower them as they challenge misrepresentations of their identities and discuss current sociopolitical issues that impacts their lives. This research aims to assist literacy scholars, educators, and others in understanding how young Black girls draw upon the histories of Black women to develop their identities and utilize digital tools to engage in literacies that discuss and challenge current sociopolitical issues in meaningful ways.

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Keywords
digital literacy, digital tools, critical literacy, identity, writing, elementary, Black girls, ethnic racial identity development
Citation
Kristy Girardeau. "Is There Space for Black Girls? Elementary-aged Black Girls' Ethnic-Racial Identity Development and Literacy Practices in a Literacy Collaborative." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2025. https://doi.org/10.57709/wsds-ye45
Embargo Lift Date
2027-04-22
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