Books are boring! Books are fun! Boys' polarized perspectives on reading

Journal article

Scholes, Laura. (2017). Books are boring! Books are fun! Boys' polarized perspectives on reading. Boyhood Studies. 10(2), pp. 77 - 98. https://doi.org/10.3167/bhs.2017.100205
AuthorsScholes, Laura
Abstract

This article draws on interview data gathered from a broader study concerned with examining issues associated with boys, masculinities, and reading at school. The focus is on eight boys in Years 5 and 6 who attend schools in a range of socioeconomic communities in Australia. The boys offer polarized perspectives on reading, with four boys reporting positive attitudes toward reading and describing reading books as “fun” and another four boys describing reading books as “boring.” Examined are inflections in these two groups of boys’ experiences as readers at school, making visible the way boys’ attitudes influence engagement with reading. This research moves beyond broad generalizations about boys to consider complexities inherent in notions of masculinity and how different groups of boys internalize their positioning of reading in ways that influence their attitudes, engagement, and subsequently outcomes in reading.

Keywordsboys and education; disadvantage; literacy as social practice; masculinities and schooling; reading; schooling
Year2017
JournalBoyhood Studies
Journal citation10 (2), pp. 77 - 98
PublisherBerghahn Books Inc.
ISSN2375-9240
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3167/bhs.2017.100205
Page range77 - 98
Research GroupInstitute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education (ILSTE)
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Controlled
Place of publicationUnited States of America
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