Disrupting the 'boys don't read' discourse : Primary school boys who love reading fiction
Journal article
Scholes, Laura, Spina, Nerida and Comber, Barbara. (2021). Disrupting the 'boys don't read' discourse : Primary school boys who love reading fiction. British Educational Research Journal. 47(1), pp. 163-180. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3685
Authors | Scholes, Laura, Spina, Nerida and Comber, Barbara |
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Abstract | This article disrupts dominant discourses around boys and reading that often homogenise young males as reluctant, disengaged and, at times, adversarial readers. Rather than essentialising boys, we argue there is a need for a more sophisticated knowledge base about the influences, constraints and diverse experiences of boys as readers in society today. Drawing on interviews (n = 30) with Year 4 (8 to 9-year-old) boys at six schools, we consider their personal recounts of their enjoyment in reading, their preferred reading choices and narratives related to their experiences as readers at school. Analysis highlights boys' emerging reading interests, sophisticated and specific reading preferences, and changes in reading identities over time. Boys' preferences for particular fiction authors, novel series and genres dispute the common assumption in educational contexts that boys prefer to engage with non-fiction books. This finding is significant, as negative gendered stereotypes can impact on boys' reading self-concepts. It is also critical given Jerrim and Moss's recent research highlighting the importance of fiction in the development of reading skills. We consider implications for pedagogical practices that broaden reading experiences for the diversity of emerging masculine reading identities in nations such as Australia, where there is an absence of reading for pleasure in education policies. |
Keywords | boys and reading; fiction; reading enjoyment; schooling |
Year | 2021 |
Journal | British Educational Research Journal |
Journal citation | 47 (1), pp. 163-180 |
Publisher | John Wiley & Sons |
ISSN | 0141-1926 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3685 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85096697400 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Research or scholarly | Research |
Page range | 163-180 |
Funder | Australian Research Council (ARC) |
Author's accepted manuscript | License File Access Level Open |
Publisher's version | |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 03 Nov 2020 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 01 Oct 2020 |
Deposited | 25 Jun 2021 |
ARC Funded Research | This output has been funded, wholly or partially, under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 |
Grant ID | ARC/DE170100990 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8w454/disrupting-the-boys-don-t-read-discourse-primary-school-boys-who-love-reading-fiction
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