Year 3 boys’ and girls’ enjoyment for reading across economic demographics in Australia. Implications for boys and students from lower SES communities

ABSTRACT

International studies have established that reading for enjoyment is linked to higher reading outcomes however there are local variations of the relationship and nuances associated with gender and economic contours. The aim of this study was to examine 318 Australian Year 3 (7 to 8-year-olds) boys’ and girls’ self-reported enjoyment for reading, reading frequency, and achievement on national reading tests. Findings showed that students who indicated higher levels of enjoyment for fiction and non-fiction, and who read more frequently, indicated higher reading achievement. Students attending schools in higher demographic communities tended to attain higher reading scores. An unexpected and significant finding was that fiction was the most favoured reading genre for boys and that more girls had higher levels of enjoyment for non-fiction than boys. These findings challenge the long-standing myth that boy’s prefer non-fiction. The study demonstrates the importance of promoting reading enjoyment – particularly fiction – early in students’ schooling trajectory, with special consideration for boys and students from economically marginalised communities.

KEYWORDS:

• reading enjoyment
• fiction
• boys and reading
• gender differences
• economic disadvantage

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The ICSEA provides contextual school data related to students’ family backgrounds (parents’ occupation, their school education and non-school education) and school demographics (geographical location and the proportion of Indigenous students).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Australian Research Council [DE170100990].

Notes on contributors

Laura Scholes

Laura Scholes (PhD) is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Australian Catholic Education, Brisbane, Australia. A/Professor Scholes is also a Principal Fellow of the Australian Research Council researching how to challenge masculinities associated with boys' failure in reading.