Talking books: Gender and the responses of adolescents in literature circles

The use of student-led discussions, or literature circles, offers the potential to engage all students through a more democratic, dialogic approach. The central goal of this research was to understand how adolescents practise literacy within the context of a peer, reading group, and how gender impacts these practices. Transcripts of student-led discussions were analyzed to determine how gender positioning impacted the group dynamics in literature circles; how students utilized literary theories, particularly gender theories, when in literature circles; and how the meanings constructed in literature circles challenged or reinforced traditional discourses of gender. Findings from two diverse focal groups suggested that there was a congruence between how the students discussed and what they discussed. While the dialogic structure opened space for critical readings of the text-worlds in certain instances, there was also evidence of asymmetrical power relations within groups, and corresponding resistance by some of the boys to more critical conversations, particularly about femininity.