Girl readers overlooked
17 Apr 2008
A paper from the National Literacy Trust paper suggests female reluctant readers are often ‘overlooked’ by policies encouraging children to read.
The report, by Christina Clark and Rodie Akerman published this month is based on research carried out by the Trust, which questioned 516 boys and 626 girls who defined themselves as readers, and 270 boys and 201 girls who did not define themselves as readers. It found that there were some significant gender differences in children’s perceptions of themselves and others as readers.
Many children said they didn’t read outside school, with a greater proportion of boys in both the reader and non-reader group claiming this, but just 3% of all the children questioned did no reading outside school at all. Magazines were the most popular reading material at home, with 80% of girls and 50% of boys reading them after school, including those who said they were non-readers. The internet was also popular, with blogs and social networking websites particularly favoured by non-reading girls.
The authors wrote: “These results are striking, because they show that young people who do not describe themselves as readers are still reading a variety of materials … the big difference is simply that those who do not call themselves readers do not read fiction books.”
Children’s perceptions of other readers are also impacted by gender, with a greater percentage of girls than boys perceiving readers to be clever/intelligent and likely to do well in life. More boys than girls saw readers as geeky or nerds, while non-reading girls felt that readers were intelligent but boring as they didn’t go out much. A quarter of non-reading boys believed that reading was more of a ‘girls’ thing’.
Family and friends were also seen as an influence in children’s perceptions of themselves and others in relation to reading. A significantly greater percentage of boy than girl non-readers said that nobody in their family thought they were a good reader. A large percentage of boys – both readers and non-readers – thought their friends saw reading as geeky or nerdy, with non-readers also thinking their friends saw reading as boring.
The authors say that while boys have been targeted by initiatives such as the Boys into Books launch from the DCSF, and the National Literacy Trust’s Reading Champions role model initiative, the non-reading girl has been overlooked by researchers and policy-makers. The research indicates that non-reading girls are least likely to agree that reading is more important than other activities either now or for the future and the report suggests these girls perceive reading as something for other ‘clever’ people.
The authors recommend that, rather than a ‘Girls into Books’ initiative, non-reading girls should be encouraged to read what they enjoy, while promoting a wide range of materials and positive role models. It’s suggested that schools work to change the stereotypes perceived by girls, by using rewards and competitions based around their interests in social and verbal interaction.
The full report is available on the National Literacy Trust website’s research section
