LiteracyandGender-ResearchingTexts ContextsandReaders2007.pdf

‘In the context of continuing debates about how to teach reading, and about boys’ underachievement, Gemma Moss brings us right up close to what children are actually doing with books in classrooms. Her ethno- graphic research is meticulous and fine-grained, and she presents some striking findings about how the dynamics between literacy, gender and attainment are configured within particular schools and classrooms. This accessible, subtle book raises important questions for current policy makers and is recommended reading for anyone who cares about children, literacy and education.’ Janet Maybin, The Open University, UK Why are girls outperforming boys in literacy skills in the Western education system today? To date, there have been few attempts to answer this question. Literacy and Gender sets out to redress this state of affairs by re-examining the social organisation of literacy in primary schools. In studying schooling as a social process, this book focuses on the links between literacy, gender and attainment, the role school plays in produc- ing social differences and the changing pattern of interest in this topic both within the feminist community and beyond. Gemma Moss argues that the reason for girls’ relative success in literacy lies in the structure of schooling and, in particular, the role the reading curriculum plays in con- structing a hierarchy of learners in class. Using fine-grained ethnographic analysis of reading in context, this book outlines methods for researching literacy as a social practice and understanding how different versions of what counts as literacy can be created in the same site. Literacy and Gender makes a valuable contribution to current debates about literacy pedagogy and outlines a principled basis upon which to review the literacy curriculum in action. Gemma Moss is Reader in Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. LITERACY AND GENDER: RESEARCHING TEXTS, CONTEXTS AND READERS Literacy practices are changing rapidly in contemporary society in response to broad social, economic and technological changes: in educa- tion, the workplace, the media and in everyday life. This series reflects the burgeoning research and scholarship in the field of literacy studies and its increasingly interdisciplinary nature. The series aims to provide a home for books on reading and writing which consider literacy as a social practice and which situate it within broader institutional contexts. The books develop and draw together work in the field; they aim to be accessible, interdisciplinary and international in scope, and to cover a wide range of social and institutional contexts. HIPHOP LITERACIES Elaine Richardson CITY LITERACIES Learning to Read Across Generations and Cultures Eve Gregory and Ann Williams LITERACY AND DEVELOPMENT Ethnographic Perspectives Edited by Brian V. Street SITUATED LITERACIES Theorising Reading and Writing in Context Edited by David Barton, Mary Hamilton and Roz Ivanic MULTILITERACIES Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures Edited by Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis GLOBAL LITERACIES AND THE WORLD-WIDE WEB Edited by Gail E. Hawisher and Cynthia L. Selfe LITERACIES Series Editor: David Barton Lancaster University STUDENT WRITING Access, Regulation, Desire Theresa M. Lillis SILICON LITERACIES Communication, Innovation and Education in the Electronic Age Edited by Ilana Snyder AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERACIES Elaine Richardson LITERACY IN THE NEW MEDIA AGE Gunther Kress Editorial Board: Elsa Auerbach Boston UniversityRoz Ivanic Lancaster University Mike Baynham University of LeedsGunther Kress University of London David Bloome Vanderbilt UniversityJane Mace Southbank University Norman Fairclough Lancaster UniversityJanet Maybin The Open University James Gee University of WisconsinGreg Myers Lancaster University Nigel Hall Manchester Metropolitan Mastin Prinsloo University of Cape Town UniversityBrian Street University of London Mary Hamilton Lancaster UniversityMichael Stubbs University of Trier Peter Hannon Sheffield UniversityDenny Taylor Hofstra University Shirley Brice Heath Stanford UniversityDaniel Wagner University of Pennsylvania Gemma Moss LITERACY AND GENDER Researching texts, contexts and readers First published 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor Myra Barrs, who gave the work one of its first outings in a public forum; Basil Bernstein, who took an interest in the original bid; Valerie Hey and Carey Jewitt, who have helpfully commented on the manuscript in various stages of its evolution; Laura Huxford and Elaine Millard, who encouraged me to write up some of the findings early on; and Brian Street, who first got me to think about literacy practices. David Barton has patiently waited for the book to turn up. Whilst particular thanks go to Eileen Carnell for helping 。