Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice
Advisor
David Weintraub
Committee Member
Stephanie G. Brown
Committee Member
Kimberly Durham
Keywords
achievement, instructional activities, instructional strategies, reading proficiency
Abstract
The qualitative study examined instructional strategies that supported the academic achievement of African American boys. These are needed to increase reading proficiency. The study explored how K-6 teachers describe the unique academic needs of African American boys and the instructional strategies and activities teachers used to meet those needs to influence reading growth within the United States.
The study's theoretical foundation is guided by Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory. The qualitative study explored whether teachers’ perceptions of pedagogical strategies they use when teaching reading and language arts. The qualitative study identified what instructional strategies teachers find most successful when attempting to increase the reading proficiency of third-grade African American boys.
The research is a qualitative descriptive study, and it was explored by conducting one-on-one interviews. The study used semi-structured interviews to collect data that answer the two research questions involving teachers’ perceptions of strategies and which were most successful.
The results from this study will guide future research as it relates to instructional strategies and instructional activities to increase reading proficiency with African American boys. The teachers’ perceptions and best practices will provide educators with successful strategies to differentiate instruction. The results from the research showed instructional strategies increased reading comprehension. The results showed that the implementation of instructional strategies benefited African American boys with reading comprehension. The results of this study will help colleagues in this field of education who search for successful instructional activities and instructional strategies to help third-grade African American boys.
NSUWorks Citation
Kristen Elena Gregg. 2026. Teachers’ Perceptions of Successful Instructional Strategies to Improve the Language Arts Proficiency of Third Grade African American Boys. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. (1125)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fse_etd/1125.