Academic achievement is usually linked to literacy achievement and studies suggest that the impact of low literacy levels is more acute for male adolescents. This research used a qualitative, multiple-case study approach to explore male adolescent literacy with students and teachers at four sites in Trinidad, one in Tobago, and one in Canada. It documents and analyses the level of male literacy performance, and considers the role of teachers and instructional leaders in adolescent literacy achievement.

Workshops were held at three different sites and based on the investigation of those cases, and the strategic literacy activities done with students, the intervention model, Literacy Intervention for Male Adolescents (LIMA) was designed. An eclectic multi-pedagogical theoretical framework of turn-around pedagogies comprising social constructivism, transactional theories, and Rosenshine's (2012) principles of instruction underpinned the research. The turn-around pedagogies were first implemented in an exploratory study - The Malick Intervention Programme (MIP). The key features of that programme were used with secondary school students who were struggling with reading and writing on the other sites.

Data collection methods included responses to the survey, journal entries, feedback forms and artefacts from reading and writing activities. Member checking and expert peer review by four experienced educators upheld the credibility of the case studies. Levels of data analysis included cross-case checking and synthesis. Initial in vivo coding of participants' direct quotes resulted in descriptive coding for labelling the extracts that were summarised. New themes were reviewed and new categories were established. A third level of analysis provided features that comprised the LIMA, a significant instrument for use by educators to engage reluctant students meaningfully, and raise the literacy levels of male adolescents in secondary schools.

Wednesday 21^st June, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

Ms. Lynette Tyson-Noel is an educator, literacy specialist, researcher, and author. Currently, she is a Senior Instructor at The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), teaching the Literacy and Language courses, and Practicum and has been a teacher educator at Corinth Teachers' College since 2003.

Tyson-Noel holds a Master's degree in Education (Literacy Education) from Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia, Canada and an undergraduate degree in English from The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad. In 2010, she was awarded a six-month grant by the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE) to further her literacy research in Nova Scotia. Her published academic works include "Advancing the Case for Indigenous Education in Multidisciplinary Contexts: An Innovative Initiative", "Developing Teacher Leaders in Undergraduate Education Programmes for Transformational Change", "Collaborations in a Professional Community of Teacher Educators: A Model Writing Project" and "Teaching in a Digital Age". She is also the author of The Bus Stories (2018) and The Night Nopat Was Left Out (2011)' and co-author and co-editor of Kaleidoscope Skills Book Two (2004) and Kaleidoscope Teacher's Guide (2005).

Lynette has collaborated with colleagues in different disciplines to facilitate workshops in primary and secondary schools across Trinidad and Tobago and has co-authored journal articles and e-chapters. Her commitment to teacher professional development has inspired her to present at literacy and education conferences in the Caribbean and the United States of America, both individually and with other experienced scholars.

This educator has served the Trinidad and Tobago Reading Association (TTRA) on three occasions as its President, was chairperson of the Caribbean section of the International Reading Association (IRA) and is a former executive officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Teacher Educators (TTATE).