What can schools and teachers do to help boys close the gap in reading performance?

One of the goals of education systems is to equip all students, irrespective of their individual characteristics, with market-relevant skills. Poor or inadequate skills limit access to better-paying and more rewarding jobs and, ultimately, to better living and health conditions, and higher social and political participation. Yet, inequalities in education abound. Family background, disabilities and gender all influence students’ trajectory toward fulfilling their potential. Boys, for instance, tend to lack the basic reading proficiency needed for today’s knowledge societies. The latest TALIS-PISA link report, Positive, High-achieving Students? What Schools and Teachers Can Do, explores some of the teacher and school factors that could play a role in bridging the gap in reading performances at school between girls and boys.