Boys, masculinities and reading: Gender identity and literacy as social practice (Routledge Critical Studies in Gender and Sexuality in Education, 9)

Boys, Masculinities and Reading explores elementary students’ interpretations of their experiences of reading and the contextual influences that impact those experiences. While research continues to highlight the apparent systematic underperformance of boys in comparison to girls on national and international reading benchmarks, this text moves beyond broad generalizations to consider complexities inherent in notions of masculinity and associated tensions. Applying a socio-cultural perspective, Scholes highlights the voices of boys and girls by focusing on their reading experiences. Examining the perceived, generalized "crisis" of boys’ underperformance in reading and literacy, Scholes identifies the factors that shape perceptions of masculinity among different groups of boys across the globe.
Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Multiple Masculinities: Perspectives on Gender 3. Literacy as Social Practice: Social, Cultural and Political Dimensions of Reading 4. Ecological Perspectives: Masculinities and Reading as Ecological Metaphors 5. Diversity and Difference in the Classroom: Six Clusters of Students 6. I Really Love Reading! The Dream Team and Archetypal Commoners 7. Reading is for Nerds! The Bored and Banal and The Low Riders 8. Hide that Book! The Clandestine Readers and The Outsiders 9. Real World Influences on Literate Practices: Enabling and Constraining Domains of Experience 10. Boys (and girls) in the Literacy Classroom: Moving Forward Appendix A: Survey Instrument Appendix B: Interview Schedule