Understanding boys (dis)engagement with reading for pleasure: Project findings

Abstract

Why do boys from low-income families appear to read for pleasure far less than other groups of young people? This research project provides new evidence that how reading is taught in schools influences different boys’ orientations to and engagement with reading for pleasure. It offers evidence that boys’ (dis)engagement is not simply a gender issue and that it also involves teacher perceptions of other aspects of boys’ social and learner identities, including ‘ability’, ethnicity and social class. The research was funded by the British Academy and the Leverhulme Foundation