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Updated July 7th, 2021 at 21:13 IST

'Boys don't like reading fiction' is a myth; states a study in International Journal

A study in International Journal has proved that boys like reading fiction more, than any other genre of reading books, comics, or magazines.

Reported by: Alka Jain
Boys
ANI/REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE | Image:self
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A study has proved it a myth that boys don't like reading fiction. Gender stereotype people have created a social standard for boys that they don't like reading fiction. However, the International Journal of Inclusive Education proved that fiction is the most favored genre of reading for schoolboys, rather than non-fiction, comics, and magazines. This new finding is considered to be 'unexpected' and 'significant' as it was hard to believe it prior to this study. Research on more than 300 school children(7-8 yrs) has been taken in Australia, in which more than 57% of boys said that they like 'fiction' or 'storybooks' a lot. On the other hand, more than 55% of girls told that they like reading 'non-fiction', leaving behind 51% of boys with non-fiction as their choice.

A leading author, Laura Scholes' call for teachers

Laura Scholes has been a lead author of the study and an expert in educational semiotics from the Institute of Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Australian Catholic University in Brisbane, Australia. The author urged teachers to not only develop the reading skills of the students but also to promote their will to read and enjoy literacy agendas. According to Laura Scholes, teachers should also engage with the students' parents on regular basis in order to discuss the strategies to encourage the students' will to read, even fiction. The study has put more focus on boys and students from marginalized communities for reading fiction.

Scholes quoted in International Journal, "Fiction plays a key role in reading development. So, facilitating opportunities to develop sustained enjoyment of reading of this text type in the classroom is one way to expand boys' repertoire of experience. It also supports students with more limited access to quality reading resources."

Stereotypical social standards for boys

Some teachers have set a social standard that people from low-income areas have less desire to read while, others believe in stereotype people who say that boys don't choose fiction over non-fiction. So, teachers refer reading books to boys according to their own fixed set of patterns, rather than their personal choices.

The International Journal study

The study investigated to figure out the self-reported reading enjoyment frequency and achievement on national reading tests for 318 years, 3 people in Australia. The research was conducted on 152  boys and 162 girls from 14 schools across South East Queensland, in a range of their socio-economic status. Students were asked to rate their level of reading enjoyment for fiction, non-fiction, comics, and magazines with 'like a lot', 'like a little', or 'don't like'. As a result, 63% of girls and boys chose 'a lot' for fiction, 53 % said 'a lot' for non-fiction, and 37% for comics and magazines. According to Scholes, library visits are important for emerging readers, especially for boys and girls from under-resourced homes.

(IMAGE: ANI/REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

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Published July 7th, 2021 at 21:17 IST

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