Do girls read differently from boys? Adolescents and their gendered reading habits and preferences

ABSTRACT

Research on the gendered reading habits and preferences of boys and girls presents them as very different. This study focuses on the gendered reading habits and preferences of Singapore adolescent students (aged 12 to 17) to examine if such polarity exists in their reading habits. Drawing on survey data from 4830 adolescents in five secondary schools, the findings show that, while more girls enjoyed reading compared to boys, both boys and girls preferred to read for pleasure. Although there are some gendered differences in reading preferences, adolescents’ preferred reading materials differ less than often portrayed, with convergence in areas such as Adventure and Science Fiction and Fantasy. In the area of reading and technology, the findings suggest that girls read more online, reflecting their tendency to read more in print. More complex understanding of contemporary adolescent reading will allow educators, librarians and parents to better address adolescent reading needs.

KEYWORDS:

• Reading habits and preferences
• adolescents
• gender
• secondary schools
• reading and technology
• Singapore

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) under the Education Research Funding Programme (OER5/16 LCE Building a Reading Culture) and administered by the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University [OER5/16 LCE Building a Reading Culture], Singapore. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Singapore MOE or NIE.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education [OER5/16 LCE Building a Reading Culture].

Notes on contributors

Chin Ee Loh

Chin Ee Loh is an Assistant Professor in the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research focuses on literature and literacy education, particularly on reading and school libraries. Her recent books are The Space and Practice of Reading: A Case Study of Reading and Social Class in Singapore (2017, Routledge) and Literature Education in the Asia-Pacific: Policies, Practices and Perspectives in Global Times (2017, Routledge). Email: [email protected]

Baoqi Sun

Baoqi Sun is a research scientist at the Centre for Research in Child Development at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research interests are in bilingual education, biliteracy development, language acquisition and leisure reading. Email: [email protected]

Shaheen Majid

Shaheen Majid is Associate Professor at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He has written over 200 journal articles, conference papers and book chapters. His research interests include Library and Information Science education, information literacy, information management, environment intelligence, information and knowledge sharing, and information needs and seeking behavior. Email: [email protected]