Texts in context: Mapping out the gender differentiation of the reading curriculum

Abstract

This article draws on data collected as part of the Fact and Fiction Research Project, based at the Centre for Language in Education, Southampton University and funded by the ESRC 1996–98. The project was set up to explore the gender differentiation of reading in the primary years, in the light of boys’ under-achievement in English. It focused on the 7–9-year age group, as this is where children begin to develop as independent readers, and concentrated on their use of fact and fiction texts in different social settings. Data was collected in four different primary schools, chosen to reflect contrasts in the social background of their intake. The article has two main aims: (i) to provide analytic tools for tracking variation in literacy practices across sites through a systematic focus on the elements present within particular literacy events; and (ii) to show the relevance of this approach to understanding gender differentiation within the literacy curriculum and its consequent impact on levels of achievement. © 1999 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.