Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education

Advisor

Ronnie Hunter

Committee Member

Indiana Robinson

Keywords

academic achievement, achievement gap, elementary education, gender differences, gender gap, reading readiness

Abstract

Teachers’ Perspectives: Exploring the Reading Gender Gap Among Elementary School Boys. Teleshia Mincey-Jones, 2016: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. Keywords: academic achievement, achievement gap, elementary education, reading readiness, gender differences.

Reading mastery is essential for academic success. As an emphasis is placed on more rigor in education, some boys are being left behind in the area of reading. School districts are adopting new rigorous standards and transitioning to produce students who are career and college ready upon graduation. Girls are responding positively and thriving academically; yet, boys continue to underperform girls at the district, state, national, and global levels.

The gap between girls and boys in reading is three times greater than the gap in reading between Whites and Blacks, reported by the National Center for Education Statistics (2013b). This dissertation explored the achievement gap in reading between elementary school boys and girls from the perspectives of elementary school teachers’ lived experiences derived from a temporality of their past, present, and future lifeworld existentials. Seven teachers were interviewed and provided their lived experiences on the reading gender gap. The findings indicated that boys need to read more to increase stamina and fluency when reading. Society has embraced the boy code and it is deemed acceptable that boys are not reading as much as girls. Teachers in this study recognize that reading comprehension is a life skill and the gap has to be closed in the elementary grades. If not, boys run the risk of widening the gap to a point in which they may lose all interest in catching up.

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