Encoding Youth: Popular Culture and Multicultural Literature in a Rural Context (original) (raw)

This research investigates the intersections of youth identity, popular culture, and multicultural literature within a rural school context. Through ethnographic methods involving interviews and collaborative book discussions with educators, the study explores how teachers' perceptions of youth and cultural texts can influence the engagement of struggling readers in literacy practices. The pivotal moment of a parental challenge to a multicultural text underscores the necessity for critical discussions about literature in predominantly white educational settings.