This document summarizes research on the relationship between gender and reading. It finds that while research shows few meaningful differences in reading abilities between boys and girls, teachers and students still view reading as a gendered activity. The study interviewed high school students and teachers and found that teachers choose texts they think will appeal more to boys, focusing more attention on reluctant male readers, and students also tend to choose same-sex protagonists. However, students' individual text preferences varied and were not strictly defined by gender. The study recommends providing more text choice and encouraging students to read across gender boundaries.

1. Recognizing the Hidden Curriculum of Gender RolesThe Relationship Between Reading and Gender A Master’s Research Project byCatherine HollandSt. Mary’s College of Maryland

2. IntroductionSchools: tools for socializationStated curriculum vs. “hidden curriculum” (Giroux, 1988)Reinforcing traditional gender roles

3. The ProblemResearchers report gender inequalitiesOn standardized tests (Lietz, 2006; Marks, 2008)Increasing over time (Klecker, 2006)Influencing educational policies (Martino & Kehler 2007)

4. The ProblemGender Similarities Hypothesis (Hyde, 2005)Gender isn’t a predictor of causal thinking abilities (Berkant, 2009)Gender isn’t related to preferred learning style (Younger & Warrington, 2005 as cited in Watson, Kehler, & Martino, 2010)

5. The ProblemDifferences between genders are socially created, not biologically innate.

6. Research QuestionsDo boys consider reading to be a gendered activity? Do girls?Is it primarily teachers or their students who replicate and encourage these gender-specific behaviors and opinions?

7. PopulationAP English Literature students; grade 12English teachersPublic high school in Southern Maryland

8. MethodsAffective surveyQuestionnaireOpen-ended questionBook descriptionsStudent interviewsTeacher interviews

9. Findings*p < .05

10. Findings

11. Findings“Depends on the text. A lot of the stories that we’re doing are not geared toward young men…They’re definitely reluctant.”“No. They’re a harder sell.”“No.”“Um, if it’s about things that they liketo read about. We did The Contenderand it was about boy-things, they don’t like to read about love stories. It has a little bit of boy violence or things that they could relate to.”

12. FindingsTeacher responses to: “Do you find that the girls in your class like reading?”All four responded yes:Compared to boys in the classMore obedient

13. Findings“Not a particular genre, but I like really descriptive books. I’m trying to think of particular books…realistic that I could see happening somewhere to someone real.”“Love stories.”“Fiction novels in general. No specific genre.”“Favorite genre – anything that twists reality. Anything that messes with your perception and then gives you a shock. Thriller is too broad. You could go with a thriller but that’s too broad.”“Anything funny”

14. ImplicationsTeachers are noticing reluctant male readersThey are more resistantUnderlying assumption that males don’t like reading Adjust text choice to appeal to malesGirls may not like the texts they read in class, but they are more willing to try new ones

15. ConclusionsTeachers choose “boy-friendly” texts, focus attention on males, but they still don’t like readingThese texts describe “masculine” malesMake males even more resistant to readingBased on the interviews, students’ text preferences are idiosyncratic.Yet students tend to choose texts with same-sex protagonists

16. RecommendationsProvide text choices whenever possibleEncourage students to cross gender-boundaries in reading; reading is a human activity

17. ReferencesBerkant, H. G. (2009). An investigation of students' meaningful causal thinking abilities in terms of academic achievement, reading comprehension and gender. Educational Sciences:Theoryand Practice, 9(3), 1149-1165.Giroux, H. A. (1988). Teachers as Intellectuals: Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Learning. Bergin & Garvey Paperback.Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60(6), 581-592.Klecker, B. M. (2006). The gender gap in NAEP fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade reading scores across years. Reading Improvement, 43(1), 50-56.Lietz, P. (2006). Issues in the change in gender differences in reading achievement in crossnational research studies since 1992: a meta-analytic view. International Education Journal, 7(2), 127-149.Marks, G. N. (2008). Accounting for the gender gaps in student performance in reading and mathematics: evidence from 31 countries. Oxford Review of Education, 34(1), 89-109.Martino, W., & Kehler, M. (2007). Gender-based literacy reform: a question of challenging or recuperating gender binaries. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(2), 406-431.Watson, A., Kehler, M., & Martino, W. (2010). The problem of boys' literacy underachievement: raising some questions. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(5), 356-361.

18. Questions?