Exploring Adolescents\u27 Literacy Practices in a \u27Safe-Haven After-School Program: A Multi-Methods Study

This multi-methods dissertation study describes literacy practices of adolescents at Lighthouse, a community-based after-school program in Lincoln, Nebraska. The complex and multiple facets of this study warranted a multi-methods design that combines ethnographic and discourse analysis methodologies for the purpose of complementarity. Grounded in the argument that literacy is a social practice that happens both in and out of school settings, and that literacy is expressed through a variety of media, the study offers a thick description of Lighthouse literacy practices through an analysis of its social languages and situated meanings. By describing Lighthouse literacy practices, this study highlights the “safe-haven” nature of this after-school program. Most importantly, this dissertation argues that the pedagogy of care that prevails in this after-school program is what makes it a safe-haven