The writing on the wall: Beginning or end of a girl's career?

White, Janet

doi:10.1016/0277-5395(86)90049-x

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The same trend concerning sex differences in literacy attainments is documented in successive national survey reports of language performance in the UK (see White, 1986b for commentary).…”

Section: Children's Writing 61mentioning

confidence: 58%

Children's writing: some findings from data collected longitudinally

White

1989

Research Papers in Education

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“…The same trend concerning sex differences in literacy attainments is documented in successive national survey reports of language performance in the UK (see White, 1986b for commentary).…”

Section: Children's Writing 61mentioning

confidence: 58%

Children's writing: some findings from data collected longitudinally

White

1989

Research Papers in Education

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“…The same emphasis on fiction also occurs with writing. Research from the mid-1980s onwards has shown that the most highly valued forms of writing in English, the subject which is central to the school writing curriculum, are fictional narrative, varieties of 'creative' description and personal accounts, particularly those that draw strongly upon emotional involvement (White, 1986;Moss, 1989).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered readings: learning from children’s reading choices

Coles¹,

Thomson²

2002

Journal Research in Reading

110

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This paper presents evidence from The W H Smith Children's Reading Choices Project research in order to examine the relationship between achievement in English and the reading habits of 10-to 14-year-old children. Following a national questionnaire survey supplemented by a semi-structured interview for a small sample of respondents, it was found that children read more books and periodicals in 1994 than in 1971. However, boys tended to read less than girls. Periodical reading is a strong feature in the reading diet of both sexes. The paper argues for the importance of recognising and respecting the range of reading children engage in, and the popular reading cultures in which they live. It suggests that officially sanctioned school definitions of literacy disempower many young readers, and inhibit their development as readers. In particular, schools should recognise and value the type of informationrich reading that boys undertake away from school and should provide links between it and the 'socially orientated' reading, preferred by girls, that makes up much of the English school curriculum. Likewise, girls should be encouraged to undertake more technical and factual reading to better prepare them for the world of work. If this advice were adopted, both sexes would benefit and boys might be less inclined to perceive themselves as poor readers. The contextThe underperformance of girls within the school system -in particular their performance in maths and science -was a major concern in education in the United Kingdom, as elsewhere in the world, during the 1970s and 1980s. However, in the 1990s, as girls' performances in these subjects improved to match that of boys (QCA, 1998), the focus shifted to boys and their perceived under-performance across a range of curriculum subjects -but particularly in reading and English -throughout all of the years of compulsory schooling.An official review of research on gender and education performance by OFSTED, the UK government Office for Standards in Education, summarises the situation thus:'The pattern of performance in Reading or English at Key Stage I [5-7 years] in 1995 seems pretty clear-cut. Girls made a better start at learning to read than

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“…On the other hand for girls the concentration on narrative reading might actually be failing to educate them for the wide range of reading required outside the school curriculum. (Hall & Coles, 2001, p. 220) Research from the mid-1980s has shown that the most highly valued forms of writing in English, central to the school curriculum, are fictional narrative, varieties of creative description and personal accounts, particularly those that draw on emotional involvement (White, 1986;Moss, 1989). It is crucial to underscore that these types of writing are most highly rewarded in examinations at 16 (Stobbart et al, 1992) and reading in these areas is carefully monitored, most commonly studied in class, and forms the bedrock of what young people understand the subject 'English' to be about (Barrs & Pidgeon, 1993).…”

Section: The Privileging Of Fictionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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

Carnell

2005

The Curriculum Journal

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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.

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The writing on the wall: Beginning or end of a girl's career?

Cited by 17 publications

References 6 publications

Children's writing: some findings from data collected longitudinally

Children's writing: some findings from data collected longitudinally

Gendered readings: learning from children’s reading choices

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

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