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Recognizing the Hidden
Curriculum of Gender RolesThe Relationship Between Reading and Gender
A Master’s Research Project by
Catherine HollandSt. Mary’s College of Maryland
Introduction
• Schools: tools for socialization
• Stated curriculum vs. “hidden
curriculum” (Giroux, 1988)
• Reinforcing traditional gender roles
The Problem
• Researchers report gender inequalities
– On standardized tests (Lietz, 2006;
Marks, 2008)
– Increasing over time (Klecker, 2006)
– Influencing educational policies (Martino &
Kehler 2007)
The Problem
• Gender Similarities Hypothesis (Hyde, 2005)
• Gender isn’t a predictor of causal thinking abilities (Berkant, 2009)
• Gender isn’t related to preferred learning style (Younger & Warrington, 2005 as cited in Watson, Kehler, & Martino, 2010)
The Problem
Differences between
genders are socially
created, not biologically
innate.
Research Questions
• Do boys consider reading to be a
gendered activity? Do girls?
• Is it primarily teachers or their students
who replicate and encourage these
gender-specific behaviors and opinions?
Population
• AP English Literature students; grade 12
• English teachers
• Public high school in Southern Maryland
Methods
• Affective survey
– Questionnaire
– Open-ended question
– Book descriptions
• Student interviews
• Teacher interviews
Findings
Q7 –
I like to read.
Q8 –I would
rather read a
book
than play a
sport in my free time.*
Q9 -
I like the
books that I
read in English class.
AVG Male 3.8 2.067 3.27
AVG Female 4.17 3.31 3.46
*p < .05
Findings
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
% Boys Who Would Like to Read This Book
% Girls Who Would Like to Read This Book
Findings
“Depends on the text. A lot of the stories
that we’re doing are not geared toward
young men…They’re definitely reluctant.”
“Um, if it’s about things that they like
to read about. We did The Contender
and it was about boy-things, they don’t like to
read about love stories. It has a little bit of boy
violence or things that they could relate to.”
“No. They’re a harder sell.”
“No.”
Findings
• Teacher responses to: “Do you find that
the girls in your class like reading?”
• All four responded yes:
– Compared to boys in the class
– More obedient
Findings
“Not a particular genre, but I like really
descriptive books. I’m trying to think of
particular books…realistic that I could see
happening somewhere to someone real.”
“Favorite genre – anything that twists
reality. Anything that messes with your
perception and then gives you a shock.
Thriller is too broad. You could go with a
thriller but that’s too broad.”
“Love stories.”
“Fiction novels in general.
No specific genre.”
“Anything funny”
Implications
• Teachers are noticing reluctant male
readers
– They are more resistant
– Underlying assumption that males don’t like
reading
– Adjust text choice to appeal to males
Girls may not like the texts they read in
class, but they are more willing to try new ones
Conclusions
• Teachers choose “boy-friendly”
texts, focus attention on males, but they
still don’t like reading
– These texts describe “masculine” males
– Make males even more resistant to reading
Based on the interviews, students’ text
preferences are idiosyncratic.
Yet students tend to choose texts with
same-sex protagonists
Recommendations
• Provide text choices whenever possible
• Encourage students to cross gender-
boundaries in reading; reading is a human
activity
References
Berkant, H. G. (2009). An investigation of students' meaningful causal thinking abilities in terms of academic achievement, reading comprehension and gender. Educational Sciences:Theory and Practice, 9(3), 1149-1165.
Giroux, H. A. (1988). Teachers as Intellectuals: Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Learning. Bergin & Garvey Paperback.
Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60(6), 581-592.
Klecker, B. M. (2006). The gender gap in NAEP fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade reading scores across years. Reading Improvement, 43(1), 50-56.
Lietz, P. (2006). Issues in the change in gender differences in reading achievement in crossnational research studies since 1992: a meta-analytic view. International Education Journal, 7(2), 127-149.
Marks, G. N. (2008). Accounting for the gender gaps in student performance in reading and mathematics: evidence from 31 countries. Oxford Review of Education, 34(1), 89-109.
Martino, W., & Kehler, M. (2007). Gender-based literacy reform: a question of challenging or recuperating gender binaries. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(2), 406-431.
Watson, A., Kehler, M., & Martino, W. (2010). The problem of boys' literacy underachievement: raising some questions. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(5), 356-361.
Questions?