The State of Black Male Literacy Research, 1999–2020

Abstract

In this report, the authors describe the scope and scale of Black male literacy research; discuss theories, conceptual frames, and groundings informing the research on Black male literacy education in grades preK–12; and offer insights on Black male literacy research based on the current state of research. Each is based on an extensive review of quantitative and qualitative literacy research studies from 1999 to 2020 with primary or secondary data analysis solely or predominantly focused on Black males in grades preK–12. Four directions for future research are offered to nurture a scientific culture on Black male literacy education to address the methodological possibilities to capture the complexities of the literacy education of Black males across multiple contexts (e.g., in school, out of school), multiple locations (e.g., urban, rural, and suburban), and school types (traditional public, private, parochial, charter, home, boarding).