Questions for literacy teachers
When boys
talk about literacy and English they raise some tricky issues for the
literacy teacher:
- Can growing up as a boy and learning how to behave in 'masculine' ways
make literacy activities at school seem unattractive or inappropriate? Is
there a mismatch for some boys between learning to be masculine and learning
to do well in school-based literacy?
- Do special issues arise for boys from different social and cultural backgrounds?
- Can we help students to understand more about different constructions
of masculinity and femininity, especially those that affect participation
and performance at school?
- Can the literacy classroom become a place for helping students understand
how different constructions of gender can influence and limit their lives?
(based on Alloway and
Gilbert 1997b:ix)
Linking to what we know
How do these questions link with what we already know about boys, girls and
literacy? Current research demonstrates that:
- Social class, ethnicity, and geographical location are important influences
on boys' (and girls') performance and competence.
- Boys are more likely than girls to be in remedial reading groups, behaviour
modification programs and low-level streams of English.
- Boys are less likely than girls to read fiction, to work collaboratively
in small group learning situations, or to say that they enjoy taking part
in school literacy programs.
- Literacy and English are central to a wide range of school and post-school
subjects and fields of work, so boys' poorer average performance disadvantages
them. Some boys' (and girls') labour market choices are restricted by their
poor literacy skills.
- Boys' tendency to choose a narrow and vocationally oriented range of high
school subjects can limit their chances to develop diverse social and civic
skills.
- Boys who do well in high level maths and science are advantaged in employment
opportunities, but many boys taking these popular 'masculine' subjects do
poorly and dislike school.
- Girls on average have better print-based literacy skills than boys but
are still less likely to find full-time employment.
- Fewer girls than boys do information technology subjects that develop
new multiliteracies.
This leaves them at greater risk of joining the 'information poor' and being
excluded from important, emerging employment opportunities.
What are some of the answers?
If we are to lift the literacy performances of all students, we need to address
the lack of engagement in English and the social sciences by many boys, as
well as many girls' under-participation in technological literacies.
The work by Alloway and Gilbert (1997a,
b and c) on Boys and Literacy is a good starting point for professional
development in literacy and gender.
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