Results of the three PISA assessments reveal that during 2003-2009 there is a decline in reading literacy performance of 15-year-old students in Macao, and that the gender gap is widening every year. Making use of the PISA 2009 data, the present study seeks to analyze gender differences in student reading engagement, and through mediation and commonality analyses, explicate the mechanisms underlying gender differences in reading literacy performance. To help formulate effective reading instruction policies, latent profile analyses are carried out to uncover the latent groups of students characterized with different reading engagement patterns so as to relate to their reading literacy performance. The key findings of the study are that males are responsible for Macao’s decline in overall reading literacy performance, and gender, through the three facets of reading engagement (i.e. reading enjoyment, diversity in reading, know how to read), exerts effects upon reading literacy performance. In addition, out of the eight latent groups of reading engagement, there are some in which males are more active and involved than the females. The implication is that if males can be engaged in reading to the same level of the females, then the gender gap in reading literacy iv performance can be narrowed and the overall reading literacy standard in Macao can be elevated.

澳門三次 PISA 測試結果顯示：澳門 15 歲學生閱讀素養表現在 2003 至 2009 年期間呈現下滑的趨勢，男女生之間差距逐年擴大。本研究採用 PISA 2009 數 據，分析澳門男、女生的閱讀參與有何異同，透過對閱讀參與變項的中介效應 及共同性分析，尋找解釋構成兩性閱讀素養表現差距的機制。繼而利用潛在側 圖分析閱讀參與潛在組群分類，以了解閱讀參與特徵與閱讀素養表現性別差異 的關係，方便閱讀指導政策的有效制定。 研究發現澳門男生是導致閱讀素養成績下滑的原因，性別透過三個閱讀層 面(悅讀、想讀、會讀)影響學生閱讀素養表現，在八個澳門學生閱讀參與潛在 組群中，有某些組群的男生的閱讀參與水平優於女生。如果能透過適性教學手 段讓男生在三個閱讀參與層面的投入程度也達到女生的平均水平，則兩性在閱 讀素養表現的差距將會收窄，而澳門學生的整體閱讀素養水平也將會得以提 升。