In the majority of the research on boys' and young men's relation to reading, it is argued that boys and young men read too little, read poorly and in all the wrong ways. However, few studies focus on how boys and young men read the texts they do encounter. In particular, there is a lack of research on young men of working-class background, whose…

Highlights key findings of a study of secondary school boys' literate lives in and out of school. Suggests boys valued school in general and reading in particular, and that they pursued literate activities out of school in interesting and complex ways. Notes they often rejected school-based reading because it was not characterized by qualities of…

Twenty-six women and 26 men enrolled in a humanities course at Michigan Technological University wrote their initial impressions to short stories by James Joyce, James Baldwin, Doris Lessing, and Virginia Woolf. The names were removed and the journal entries were analyzed in light of these four questions: (1) Do women refer to their personal…

A group of 562 sixth grade students and 559 twelfth grade students was surveyed to determine if there was a difference in reading attitudes between male and female students overall and between the sixth and twelfth grade levels for each sex. Although the majority of students disagreed with the statement that reading is for learning but not for…

The scores of fifth- and sixth-grade students on the "Survey of Reading Attitudes" revealed significant gender differences. (FL)

Questionnaires based on those developed by Albert J. Mazurkiewicz for his 1960 study were used in a survey to determine the attitudes of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and male and female teachers toward reading as a masculine or feminine activity and to determine if attitudes have changed since the earlier study. A total of 133 seventh…

Suggests that the sex and socioeconomic status of first grade students have little influence on their reading attitudes. (FL)

A study examined the relationship between reading interest and achievement of male disabled readers. Subjects, 30 males aged 8 to 12 years and identified as disabled readers, were selected from a metropolitan school district in central Oklahoma. Subjects completed a reading interest questionnaire and a standardized reading test. The five subjects…

Three aspects of sex differences in reading achievement were investigated, based on data from school records and test results for first through fourth grade students in two parochial schools. The three aspects that were studied included (1) the relationship between sex-typed perceptions of reading and reading achievement, (2) changes in students'…

A study was conducted to explore the reading habits, interests, and attitudes of older readers. One hundred and twenty readers aged 60 to 64 years participated in the Adult Inventory of Reading Interests and Attitudes (AIRIA) and were classified as minimal, moderate, and avid book readers. Fifty-five of these subjects were then interviewed. Among…

A study was conducted to discover if the stated reading attitudes and interests of sixth grade students were relevant to their self-selected reading materials. Fifty students completed questionnaires concerning their reading attitudes and interests and used log sheets to record information about their self-selected reading materials. The results…

Describes a study of mothers' observations of fourth-grade boys' reading habits. The results indicated that the boys' reading did not really decrease as they grew older, but rather, that their interests were expanding into what is considered a "male literacy," which begins to include less and less sharing of reading experiences with their mothers.…

Discusses text features that tended to engage boys, and describes their desire to use literacy to share and socialize. Finds that boys were more different than alike, and that very particular conditions in the social context were more important than preexisting interests. Offers brief descriptions of 11 books the author has found to be appealing…

A study attempted to determine how students in literature-based reading programs compare to students in basal-based, skill-oriented reading programs in terms of their interest in reading. The study was carried out on a sample of 215 pupils in 9 third and fifth grade classrooms from school districts in Eastern Kansas and Northeastern Oklahoma.…

Analyzes the roles played by females in Judy Blume's "Are You There God? It's Me Margaret." Concludes that the book offers flat and unflattering portrayals of female characters. (FL)