Boys and their reading: Conceptions of young people about the success of the full on magazine

Abstract

Within the context of the national debate about boys' achievement in secondary schools, this article examines young people's conceptions of the success of the Full On magazine designed to encourage boys to read more and to challenge the negative aspects of a ‘lad’ culture.The article begins with an analysis of the magazine, its editorial policy and intervention strategy. It summarizes a national longitudinal study (Hall & Coles, 2001) and reviews how Full On addresses the concerns raised by this survey.The research method draws on the concept of ‘Appreciative Inquiry’, highlighting the magazine's potential to achieve its aims. The findings, based on interviews with young people and their teachers, are largely positive, identifying high levels of engagement with Full On, its potential to widen boys' aspirations, its effects on their studying and potential to influence post‐16 choices.The young people's voices contribute to the understanding of the success of the magazine and debates about reading. Key issues emerge: the relationship between school and reading; boys' conceptions of themselves as readers; the importance of recognizing popular reading; the need to extend conceptions of literacy and reading communities.The study reveals important links between boys' reading and their different perceptions of masculinities, and illuminates the need for teachers to adapt schools' literacy practices to encourage wider participation in reading.

Rivers of reading: Using critical incident collages to learn about adolescent readers and their readership

“…Carnell (2005) sets up interviews with students and their teachers and takes an ‘appreciative inquiry’ stance (Hammond 1998) in her evaluation of Full On magazine as a way to promote boys’ engagement in reading. Accordingly, her interviews focus on ‘what young people and teachers identified as “best” features and experiences… based more on dialogue than questioning in order to understand young people’s and teachers’ experiences’ (Carnell 2005, p. 368). Elizabeth Moje’s research in the United States (Moje et al .…”

Engaging Gifted Boys in New Literacies

“…What they really want is heroes, villains, explosions, and daring deeds. One such young man told researchers that he did not care for books because the characters tended to be boring and talk too much, especially in Charles Dickens' novels (Carnell, 2005). Instead of these character-driven stories, boys tend to prefer books about action, including spy stories, war memoirs, sports novels, and survival tales.…”

Appreciative Inquiry and Looked After Children

“…However, it is recognised that young people are experts in their own learning (Carnell, 2005) and through listening to the child's views we are able to clarify our understanding of the child's needs; LAC have valuable contributions to make to research (Kufeldt, Simard, & Vachon, 2003). This unique perspective can inform teachers and professionals regarding the ways in which services can become more focused upon addressing pupil needs and thereby becoming more effective (Rose & Jones, 2007).…”

“…It has previously been noted that there are a number of studies which utilise appreciative questioning and have not followed through the 4-D cycle due to factors such as time constraints (i.e. Carnell, 2005). Having experienced the workshop firsthand the importance of this stage should not be underestimated; this workshop encouraged the designated LAC teacher to take responsibility for action planning and for creating change.…”

“…Findings presented within the workshop were readily accepted as they were grounded in examples and they were affirmatively orientated. This affirmative focus promotes a search for solutions (Gates, 2002) and as AI highlights the positive core within the organisation engaged in inquiry, it avoids a negative or blaming stance (Carnell, 2005). This contrasts with experiences where tensions have occurred between research outcomes and the population studied (Ragin, 2009).…”