This colloquium paper focuses on government-funded projects on boys' literacy performance in Australian schools. It begins by outlining the socio-political context in which the work was undertaken and briefly references the socially critical model that supported the development of professional development and teaching units. The paper draws on work completed and work in progress in highlighting dilemmas inherent in working in this field. The central argument is that it is necessary, but insufficient, to continue discussing gender's association with school literacy outcomes.
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