Young Adult Literature Research in the 21st Century

The study of young adult literature (YAL) as both an art form and teaching tool is in its infancy. Barely 50 years old, this emerging genre began to establish a presence in the canon of both classical and popular literature. As a developing field of inquiry, however, YAL struggles for legitimacy and prestige. The purpose of this article is to issue a call to educational researchers to shift the focus of current YAL research from teaching the content (text analysis research) to that of student learning in the classroom (empirical research). Doing so would increase the legitimacy and influence of the genre and establish its jurisdiction within the educational research arena as a valuable and viable subject worthy of investigation.