Siblings as an Untapped Literacy Resource for Boys?

Abstract

Forty-four inner-city, second grade, Canadian children participated in individual interviews about home reading practices. Qualitative findings showed that many children were not read to by adults in their homes and that many children did not read to others in their homes. Unexpected findings demonstrated that these environments were more common for boys than for girls. Furthermore, boys showed twice the prevalence of literacy interactions with siblings as did girls. The findings are examined with a systems ecological view and suggest sibling relationships as potential resiliency mechanisms for addressing boys’ underachievement in reading and school.