Canadian Adolescent Boys and Literacy -- SSHRC 2000-2003

Kathy Sanford and Heather Blair

The purpose of this research study was to better understand issues of gender in classrooms in relation to language and literacy, particularly for adolescent boys in Canadian urban multicultural classrooms. Through this study we examined how early adolescent boys in three urban Canadian schools constructed their gender identity in their talk, their writing, and their reading.
Over the past several decades there has been an increasing concern in North America that girls are being short-changed in their schooling; in more recent years questions have been raised in the western world about the nature of schooling for boys. While not disregarding the seriousness of gender inequities for girls in school, we wanted to explore the gender issues that exist for boys regarding school literacy. The research indicates concerns for boys in educational settings, e.g., boys don’t view education positively, they don’t like to read, some don’t read very well, and a growing percentage of boys are “failing” at school. Boys are faced with many contradictions between school literacy practices and societal expectations regarding masculinity.
The recognition that literacy is a socio-cultural construct has increased our awareness of the importance of gender in learning to be literate. While substantial qualitative research has been conducted into the literacy practices of girls, the research studies regarding boys specific to their literacy practices have not been researched in considerable depth. There needs to be more extensive, in-depth, and longitudinal study of literacy practices of boys from diverse backgrounds.
Our work over the past several years has focused on gender and literacy, primarily that of adolescent girls. Through this work we came to recognize the need to consider both males and females when examining issues of gender. This SSHRC research project enabled us to better understand the development of literacy for adolescent boys. With current concerns about boys faring badly in school, we believe that it is important to do in-depth research into their literacy practices in order to better assess if and how Canadian schools may be shortchanging or failing boys.