Teenage boys, teenage girls and books: Re-viewing some assumptions about gender and adolescents' reading practices

In the 1980s Jack Thomson's research on teenagers' reading provided critical insights for teachers into the reading preferences and practices of adolescents. This article reports on the findings of a pilot project and the interim findings of a large-scale project currently underway investigating Australian adolescents' reading choices. What are adolescents choosing to read? How do they evaluate the role of reading and literature in English classrooms? Do they enjoy reading in English? What are the implications of this knowledge for English teachers and the teaching profession more broadly? The article examines adolescents' responses to these critical questions and discusses the ways in which secondary English pedagogy may benefit from the findings. The findings of this study contribute to existing research that stresses the need for English teachers to consider the role of gender as one of a number of factors influencing teenagers' achievements in and attitudes towards reading. Key findings from the research highlight the ongoing need for teachers of English at secondary level to plan and implement a reading programme that caters for the diverse needs, interests, tastes and capacities of individuals within their class, acknowledging at all times the powerful role of student choice and enjoyment in teenagers' reading achievement.