Reading for pleasure: supporting reader engagement

The challenges of reading experienced by learners exerts a negative impact on reading for pleasure, and learners' outcomes. In an attempt to address such reading challenges, Reading Clubs were launched to promote reading for pleasure among South African youth. This study examines the influence of Reading Clubs on learners' attitudes to Reading for Pleasure and the outcomes thereof. The study was informed by the Top-Down Model of Reading and the Cultural Theory of reading for pleasure. Interviews were conducted in five purposively selected schools with five Sparker coaches and five teachers. The research findings reveal a positive influence of Reading Clubs on reading for pleasure and learners' outcomes. This is reflected through improved levels of reading for pleasure. This study ultimately recommends that schools learn from best practices of Reading Clubs, and that government strive to make Reading Clubs a sustainable project.

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Do primary school libraries affect teenagers’ attitudes towards leisure reading?

IFLA Journal ◽

10.1177/0340035220983359 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 034003522098335

Author(s):

Pamela McKirdy

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Primary School ◽

Family Background ◽

School Libraries ◽

First Year ◽

Noisy Environments ◽

Primary School Students ◽

School Students ◽

Leisure Reading ◽

Reading For Pleasure

This study explores how New Zealand primary school students’ experiences of school libraries affected their attitudes towards reading for pleasure once they entered secondary school. Two hundred and seventy-six students in their first year at high school completed a survey asking about their primary school libraries. The students were asked to self-identify as keen readers, occasional readers or non-readers. The results were analysed in a spreadsheet, considering variables such as attitude to reading, former school and family background. The students were mainly positive about their libraries, but were bothered by cramped and noisy environments and books they perceived as babyish. Students from schools with a librarian were more positive about reading for fun than those from schools where the library was not prioritised. Students from a family background where reading was encouraged were more likely to maintain a positive attitude to reading by the time they reached high school.

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