Reading for pleasure on the increase?: Changes in the reading habits of boys andgirls

Abstract

Icelandic schoolchildren are much less likely to read books in their leisure time than their peers did a few decades ago. As in other countries, Icelandic girls on average spend more time than boys reading books, and are more interested in reading. Girls also score higher on standardized tests in Icelandic and show better reading comprehension on OECD‘s international PISA tests.

These results have become part of the Icelandic discourse on the problematic position of boys in schools. In this discourse, boys are considered to have been marginalized by feminism and bereft of role models and understanding as the teaching profession has become dominated by women. Improving the poor reading skills of boys in particular was a central theme of a large-scale reading initiative launched by the Icelandic Ministry of Education in 2015 and a prominent campaign issue for one of the main candidates in the 2016 Icelandic presidential elections.