Associate Professor Laura Scholes
Associate Professor
Gender and Literacy in the Digital Age
Areas of expertise: Fields of educational expertise; Critical reading and digital media; Boyhood, masculinities and reading; Evaluative reading and sourcing in the digital age; Epistemic cognition for critical reading; Masculinities and schooling; Expertise in qualitative, quantitative and mixed research design methodologies; Survey design and analysis; Image stimulus interview design and analysis; Eye-tracking online engagement methods; Scenario based interview methods; Ethnography - early childhood, primary and middle school settings; Large scale longitudinal mixed method design
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8849-2825
Phone: +61 07 3861 6177
Email: laura.scholes@acu.edu.au
Location: ACU Brisbane Campus
Associate Professor Laura Scholes investigates how young people navigate digital worlds, with particular focus on gender, literacy, and critical reading in the age of digital texts and social media. Based at the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, ACU Brisbane, her research addresses urgent questions about how diverse young people can develop the critical literacies needed to read and evaluate digital texts to make meaning.
Drawing on theories of masculinity, media studies, and epistemic cognition, A/Professor Scholes employs innovative mixed-methods approaches-including visual methodologies, large-scale surveys, and youth participatory research-to generate evidence that transforms educational practice and policy.
Her research impact is substantial: over 90 scholarly works including five books, with publications in leading international journals such as Review of Educational Research, Teaching and Teacher Education, British Educational Research Journal, Learning, Media and Technology, Cambridge Journal of Education, British Journal of Sociology of Education, International Journal of Educational Research, and Critical Studies in Education.
Her sole-authored book Boys, Masculinities and Reading: Gender Identity and Literacy as Social Practice (Routledge, 2018) established new theoretical frameworks for understanding how gender shapes literacy practices. Her latest book Boyhood in the Digital Age (2025) examines how young people navigate masculine ideologies on digital platforms including social media sites.
A/Professor Scholes' work bridges research and practice, generating resources for educators, families, and policymakers to support young people's healthy engagement with digital media while fostering critical thinking and inclusive approaches to literacy education.
Major Research Funding and Leadership
A/Professor Laura Scholes was awarded a prestigious three-year Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA DE170100990, 2017-2020) investigating masculinities associated with boys' reading engagement. This foundational research employed innovative mixed-methods approaches to reveal the multiple contextual influences shaping masculine reading identities and generated critical pedagogies that improve reading outcomes for disadvantaged students-work that established her international reputation in gender and literacy research.
Building on this foundation, A/Professor Scholes has led multiple funded research projects addressing critical challenges in digital literacy education, including: evaluating how students source and critically evaluate information online; examining gendered experiences of reading across curriculum areas; investigating how teaching pedagogies shape literate identities; advancing children's critical thinking capacities; and developing futures-focused approaches to literacy education in the digital age.
Current Research Leadership
A/Professor Scholes currently leads and contributes to two major Australian Research Council projects addressing urgent needs in digital literacy and critical pedagogy:
As Lead Chief Investigator on the ARC Linkage Project Utilising Digital Texts to Foster Volitional, Proficient Readers in Australian Schools (LP230200003, 2023-2026, $675,000), she collaborates with industry partners and international scholars to transform how schools develop boys' reading engagement and proficiencies through digital texts including ebooks and gaming narratives. This research employs cutting-edge visual methodologies including eye-tracking and screen recording to reveal previously invisible reading processes, generating evidence-based pedagogical strategies for educators.
As Chief Investigator on the ARC Discovery Project Critical Pedagogies for Multimodal Literacies with AI and Extended Reality Technologies (DP250100105, 2025-2027, $548,628), she works with leading international and national scholars to develop critical pedagogies that equip students to navigate artificial intelligence and extended reality environments-addressing how emerging technologies transform what it means to read, create, and think critically in educational contexts.
These projects position A/Professor Scholes at the forefront of international research addressing how young people can develop the sophisticated literacies needed for our rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Research Leadership and Service to the Profession
A/Professor Scholes provides influential leadership across the international education research community. She serves as a research grant assessor for the Australian Research Council (ARC), evaluating competitive funding applications and shaping national research priorities. She recently completed her term as co-president of the American Education Research Association (AERA) Special Interest Group, contributing to international research governance and scholarly networks. She also leads Australia on an international Reading Scholars Network with colleagues from England, Scotland, Czechia and Singapore to inform policy approaches to advancing young people's volitional reading.
Her editorial leadership spans multiple high-impact journals including the International Journal of Educational Research, Language and Education, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, and Australian Journal of Language and Literacy-roles that position her at the centre of advancing scholarship in gender, literacy and education internationally.
Research Impact and Public Engagement
Beyond academic audiences, A/Professor Scholes maintains a strong public voice translating complex educational research into accessible insights that inform practice and policy. Her work reaches millions through national media including ABC radio, The Conversation (where her articles regularly achieve high readership), Financial Review, and international news outlets. She actively engages with practitioners through teacher professional learning platforms, educational magazines, and social media, ensuring research findings directly benefit Australian classrooms, families, and communities.
This commitment to knowledge translation has generated over $4.6 million in advertising value equivalent over the past five years, demonstrating exceptional impact in making research accessible and actionable for diverse stakeholders including educators, policymakers, parents, and the general public.
Curriculum Vitae
Select publications
Books (select only)
- Scholes, L., Stahl, G., & McDonald., S. (2025). Boyhood in the Digital Age, Palgrave Macmillan.
- Mills, K., Unsworth, L. & Scholes, L. (in press 2022). Literacy for digital futures: Mind, body, text. New York, NY: Routledge.
- Scholes, L. (2018). Boys, masculinities and reading: Gender identity and literacy as social practice. Critical studies in gender and sexuality in education series. New York, NY: Routledge.
Book chapters (select only)
- Scholes, L., Pink, E., & McDonald, S. (2025). Girls and boys as readers: Challenging binary beliefs. In Reading for pleasure: International perspectives (pp. 16-29). Routledge.
- Scholes, L. (2022). Critically evaluating multiple sources for digital futures. In Mills, Unsworth & Scholes, Literacy for digital futures: Mind, body, text. New York, New York: Routledge. http://doi.org/10.4324/9781003137368-4
- Scholes, L. (2022). Why video gaming is an important digital literacy practice. In Mills, Unsworth & Scholes, Literacy for digital futures: Mind, body, text. New York, New York: Routledge. http://doi.org/10.4324/9781003137368-5
Journal articles (select only)
- Scholes, L., McDonald, S., & Scholes, N. (2025). Social media and the medicalization of boyhood: Critical literacies to evaluate media messaging. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2025.2577579
- Mills, K. A., Cope, J., Scholes, L., & Rowe, L. (2025). Coding and computational thinking across the curriculum: A review of educational outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 95(3), 581-618. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543241241327
- Scholes, L., McDonald, S., Stahl, G., & Comber, B. (2024). Many truths, many knowledges, many forms of reason: Understanding middle-school student approaches to sources of information on the internet. British Educational Research Journal, 50(1), 53-72. https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/berj.3909
- Cremin, T., & Scholes, L. (202). Reading for pleasure: scrutinising the evidence base-benefits, tensions and recommendations. Language and Education, 38(4), 537-559. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2324948.
- Stahl, G., Asplund, S. & Scholes, L. (2024). Investigating the role of identity versatility in the discursive production of working-class boyhood, learner identities and educational engagement. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2024.2326391 Open Access.
- Scholes, L. (2023). Reading for digital futures: a lens to consider social justice issues in student literacy experiences in the digital age. Cambridge Journal of Education, 54(1), 71-88. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2023.2281695
- Scholes, L., Rowe, L., Mills, K. A., Gutierrez, A., & Pink, E. (2023). Video gaming and digital competence among elementary school students. Learning, Media and Technology, 49(2), 200-215. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2022.2156537
- Scholes, L., Mills, K. A., & Wallace, E. (2022). Boys' gaming identities and opportunities for learning. Learning, Media and Technology, 47(2), 163-178. https:doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2021.1936017
- Scholes, L., & McDonald, S. (2022). Year 3 student career choices: Exploring societal changes in constructions of masculinity and femininity in career choice justifications. British Educational Research Journal, 48(2), 292-310. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3767
- Scholes, L., & Asplund, S. B. (2021). The making of male reader identities across generations: assemblages of rural places in shaping life as a male reader in Australia and Sweden. British Journal of sociology of Education, 42(8), 1192-1209. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2021.1990016
- Scholes, L. (2021). Year 3 boys' and girls' enjoyment for reading across economic demographics in Australia. Implications for boys and students from lower SES communities. International Journal of Inclusive Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1941319
- Scholes, L., Mills, K., & Wallace, E. (2021). Boys' gaming identities and opportunities for learning. Learning, Media and Technology. https:doi:10.1080/17439884.2021.1936017
- Scholes, L., Stahl, G., Comber, B. & McDonald, S. (2021). We don't read in science. Student perceptions of reading for learning in science classrooms. Cambridge Journal of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2020.1860192
- Scholes, L., Spina, N. & Comber, B. (2020). Disrupting the "boys' don't read" discourse: Primary school boys' stories of a love of reading fiction. British Educational Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3685
- Scholes, L. (2020). Recognition of boys as readers through a social justice lens. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 41 (7), 975-991. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2020.1802227
- Scholes, L, (2019). Differences in attitudes towards reading and other school-related activities among boys and girls. Journal of Research in Reading. 42 (3-4), 485-503. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12279
- Scholes, L. (2019). Working-class boys' relationships with reading: Contextual systems that support working-class boys' engagement with, and enjoyment of, reading, Gender and Education, 31 (3), 344-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2018.1533921
Projects
- 2024-2027 Australian Research Council, Linkage LP230200003: Lead CI Scholes, L., Cremin, T., [OU England], Nagel, M., [UniSC], Utilising digital texts to foster volitional, proficient readers in Australian schools, [540,000 ARC; 135,000 Industry Parter contributions], Funding $675,000.
- 2025-2027 Australian Research Council, Discovery DP250100105; Mills, K., Unsworth, L., Falloon, G., Scholes, L., Cope, W, Critical pedagogies for AI and XR literacies, Funding $548,626.
- 2024 National Institute of Education, Singapore, International Research Collaboration grant, Scholes, L., with Loh C.E [Singapore], Cremin, T. [UK], Scholes, L. [ACU], McGeown, S. [Scotland] & Kuzmicova, A. [Czechia]. Coalition for international research on young people's lived experiences of reading, $9,900.
- 2024-2025 ACU university partnership grant. Gutierrez, A., Scholes, L. & Mills, K. Pedagogical transformation for digital futures, $9,966.
- 2021 Education Horizon Grant, Department of Education, Queensland. Lead CI Scholes, L., Mills, K., Gutierrez, Friend, L. Future Education: Evidence-based innovations for Queensland schooling and workforces, $129,000.
- 2017-2021 Australian Research Council. Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) DE170100990: Lead CI Scholes, L. Investigating how to challenge masculinities associated with boys' failure in reading, $377,900. https://www.acu.edu.au/research/our-research-institutes/institute-for-learning-sciences-and-teacher-education/our-research/projects/challenging-masculinities-associated-with-boys-failure-in-reading
- 2018-2021 Brisbane Catholic Education: Lead CI Scholes, L., Lunn, J., Walker, S. Johansson, E. PI: Lawson, V. Helping children to reason about moral values for social inclusion: A longitudinal study, $10,000.
- 2018-2019 URIPA Funding, University of Adelaide: CI Stahl, G., Scholes, L., Comber, B & Lunn, J. The nexus of literacy and science epistemic beliefs: Understanding students' gendered science participation, $10,000.
- 2018 QUT Seed Funding: CI Walker, S., Lunn, J. & Scholes, L. Executive function and epistemic cognition in early childhood, $10,000.
- 2013-2015 Australian Research Council. Discovery Scheme DP130102136: Lunn, J., Walker, Johansson, E & Berthelsen, D with Scholes, L. Changing relationships between children's moral reasoning for inclusion and epistemic beliefs in early years primary classrooms, $380,000.
- 2014 QUT Faculty Project: CI Lunn, J., Davis, J., Farrell, A. & Scholes, L. Understanding teaching, learning and leadership in elementary teacher education in Papua New Guinea.
- 2013 Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre. CI Johnson, D, Jones, C., & Scholes, L. Gaming in the lives of boys, $53,850.
- 2012-2013 Telstra Foundation: CI Jones, C., Scholes, L. et al. Orbit: The feeling safe sexual abuse prevention project, $538,000. http://orbit.ht.dstier2.com/csa/the-orbit-approach/
Accolades and awards
- 2025 Invited Visiting Research Fellow, Education Futures, University of South Australia 3-30 July.
- 2024 Invited Visiting Professorship, National Institute of Education, Singapore 9-16 November 2024.
- 2024 Wiley "Top Cited Article 2022-2023". Scholes & McDonald, British Educational Research Journal article.
- 2022 Literacy for Digital Futures, Routledge Knowledge Unlatched Award. Book selected by the KU Selection Committee (comprising specialist subject librarians from all over the world) to be part of the "KU Select 2023 HSS Books" collection of Open Access scholarly books.
- 2022 Wiley "Top Cited Article 2021-2022". Scholes, Spina and Comber, British Education Research Journal article.
- 2021 Wiley "Top Cited Article 2020-2021". Scholes, Spina & Comber, British Educational Research Journal article.
- 2021 "Top Article" selected for international media coverage by Taylor & Francis Newsroom, UK, and ranked in top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetrics (https://rb.gy/uko6rc). International Journal of Inclusive Education article.
- 2018 QUT Publication First Award. Faculty of Education. Scholes, L. Sole authored monograph.
- 2017 Discovery Early Career Research Award (2017-2019) ($377,000). Australian Research Council.
- 2014 QUT Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in the category of "Mixed team" (academic and professional staff) for "Partnerships and Engagement" for the JIFEE (Jiangsu International Foundation for Education Excellence) program at Hongwen College, Suzhou, China.
- 2011 The University of Queensland Dean's Award for Research Higher Degree Excellence, Thesis. Fewer than ten per cent of PhD graduates are recognized.
- 2011 Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Postgraduate Student Research Award ($1,000). Award for paper based on originality, contemporary significance and /or scholarly relevance, conceptual, methodological and theoretical innovation.
- 2011 The University of Queensland Carolyn D Baker Research Scholarship ($2,500).
- 2010 The University of Queensland, School of Education, Postgraduate Publication Award, PhD publishing - recognition of quality publications.
Appointments and affiliations
- Associate Professor & Principal Research Fellow ILSTE, ACU and the Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow 2019-present
- Senior Research Fellow Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) & Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow 2017-2018
- Research Fellow Faculty of Education, QUT 2013-2016
- Senior Research Assistant Faculty of Education, QUT 2010-2012
Editorial roles
- International Journal of Educational Research
- Language and Education
- Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
- Frontiers in Developmental Psychology
- Australian Journal of Language and Literacy
International journal review panel
- Teaching and Teacher Education
- British Journal of Educational Research
- British Journal of Sociology of Education
- Journal of Reading Research
- International Journal of Inclusive Education
- Pedagogies: An International Journal
- Masculinities and Social Change
- Critical Studies in Education
Grant agency review panels
- Australian Research Council
Public engagement (select)
Education Daily
The Educator
The Conversation
