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Descriptors:
Interests; Adolescents; Community Resources; Access to Information; Personal Narratives; Language Usage; Recreational Reading

Abstract:
While doubts surround relations between adolescents and books, Heath argues that today's adolescents seek out reading opportunities that develop and deepen their special interests. Wanting to know and do more than their parents, young people prize learning on their own time to advance skills, ways of knowing, and peer relationships. Doing so, they want to take every advantage that technologies give them. In doing so, they have to interpret numerous genres, visual images, and layered meanings. Based on three decades of research on the learning lives of working-class families, Heath asserts the vital need for adults to learn about the special interests of today's adolescents and to develop with them joint projects and explorations of multiple sources of information both through the internet and in place-based and face-to-face community resources such as museums and local experts. (Contains 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Validity; Measurement; Reading Comprehension; Construct Validity; Factor Structure; Grade 5; Structural Equation Models; Reading Motivation; Elementary School Students; Self Determination; Questionnaires; Self Concept; Foreign Countries; Factor Analysis; Reading; Comparative Analysis; Item Response Theory; Recreational Reading; Correlation

Abstract:
Research indicates the need to further examine the dimensions of reading motivation. A clear theoretical basis is necessary for conceptualizing reading motivation and considering contextual differences therein. The present study develops and validates the SRQ-Reading Motivation, a questionnaire measuring recreational and academic reading motivation based on self-determination theory. The study clarifies the relation among reading motivation, reading self-concept, reading behavior (i.e., engagement and frequency), and reading performance (i.e., comprehension). Participants included 1,260 Flemish fifth-grade students and their 67 teachers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that both recreational and academic reading motivation comprise 2 factors: autonomous and controlled motivation. This factor structure was found to be invariant across boys and girls. Comparisons of the SRQ-Reading Motivation with subscales of the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire provide evidence for the construct validity of the instrument. Structural equation modeling confirmed that recreational autonomous reading motivation is associated with more positive reading behavior and better performance. In the academic setting, only the equivalent relationship between autonomous reading motivation and leisure-time reading frequency could be corroborated. In this respect, the results confirm the independent contribution of recreational autonomous reading motivation and reading self-concept to reading behavior and performance. No significant indirect relationship between reading motivation and reading comprehension through reading frequency or reading engagement was found. The theoretical and practical significance of the present study is discussed. (Contains 5 tables, 4 figures and 3 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Literacy; Periodicals; Reading Habits; Independent Reading; Middle Schools; Reading Interests; Middle School Students; Reading; Vocabulary; Interviews; Surveys; Longitudinal Studies; Recreational Reading; Adolescents; Early Adolescents

Abstract:
Can students read difficult but self-selected texts--and if so, how? In this article we describe what we learned about middle school students' use of background knowledge and specific vocabulary from interviews and surveys in our longitudinal study of magazine reading habits. Then we discuss the implications of these findings for structuring independent reading opportunities and facilitating connections between students' in- and out-of-school literacies. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Reading Comprehension; Reading Fluency; Reading Rate; Second Language Learning; English (Second Language); Recreational Reading; Correlation; Reading Programs; Program Evaluation; College Freshmen; Achievement Gains; Pretests Posttests; Program Effectiveness; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
Few second-language (L2) reading studies have examined the relationship between reading large amounts of text and fluency, and those studies that have tend to be problematic in terms of their designs and/or analyses. In order to address this lack of empirical L2 reading fluency research, this study investigates the effects of a 1-year pleasure reading program on the reading rate development of first-year Japanese university students (N = 97). The reading rates and reading comprehension of an Intensive Reading Group and three Pleasure Reading Groups were measured at the beginning and end of the academic year. All Pleasure Reading Groups made greater gains than the Intensive Reading Group, and the two Pleasure Reading Groups that read the most made greater reading rate gains than the Pleasure Reading Group that read the least. Reading one book every 2 weeks or more was the most effective means for promoting reading rate gains for the majority of learners. An additional finding was that reading comprehension was consistently high on both the pretest and posttest; thus, the increased reading rates did not come at the expense of passage comprehension. A final finding was that reading simplified rather than unsimplified texts resulted in greater reading rate gains. (Contains 1 figure, 13 tables, and 9 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Preservice Teachers; Secondary Education; Recreational Reading; Adolescents; Teacher Student Relationship; Self Disclosure (Individuals); Sharing Behavior; Reading Attitudes; Content Area Reading; Field Experience Programs

Abstract:
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore 72 preservice teachers' attitudes toward and experiences with sharing their content area as well as their recreational reading with teenager students. Methodology: Preservice teachers who were enrolled in a required secondary content area literacy course at a Midwest university, including 49 in a 30-hour field practicum connected to the course, and 23 who were not in the practicum because their majors were special education, music, or physical education participated in this study. All completed an anonymous survey at the end of the semester. Results: More preservice teachers in the field experience shared content area and recreational reading with students than those not in the field experience. Conclusion: The results suggest that by sharing their reading, secondary preservice teachers discovered an avenue to build connections with teenagers. They examined stereotypes about reading and readers. They learned how to share reading with students. The results also suggested the value of a field experience. Recommendations: It is recommended that preservice teachers be shown how to share their content and recreational reading with teenagers and be given an opportunity to do so during their teacher education coursework. (Contains 8 tables) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; High School Students; Females; Study Habits; Reading Achievement; Reading Attitudes; Reading Fluency; Reading Habits; Reading Motivation; Recreational Reading; Reading Strategies; Reader Text Relationship; Reading Comprehension; Qualitative Research; Reading Skills; High Achievement; Relationship; Independent Reading

Abstract:
This article is based on a qualitative study that explored the impact reading had on the lives of two female students who attained exemplary results in their final year of high school. The reading practices of these two high achieving students provided data rich information. Both students were academically successful in completing their Victorian Certificate of Education. One of the participants was awarded Dux of the school while the other participant was the second highest achieving student in the VCE cohort. The focus of the study was to explore how reading linked to academic success, how students perceived reading in helping them achieve academic success and what other factors related to reading can be associated with students' performance. Reading was at the nucleus of both students' lives and the study explored how it interconnected and assisted them to weave their journeys of academic success. (Contains 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Adolescents; Reading Motivation; Reading Materials; Reader Text Relationship; Reading Achievement; Reading Attitudes; Reading Habits; Recreational Reading; Learner Engagement; Reading Failure; Low Achievement; Self Efficacy; Educational Environment; Educational Quality; Remedial Instruction

Abstract:
This paper explores the key findings of a range of research on teenagers and reading, focusing on the implications for classroom practice and student engagement. There is a particular emphasis on addressing the needs of underachieving and reluctant readers and the ways in which promoting reading for pleasure and enjoyment can contribute to student achievement and satisfaction within and beyond the classroom. (Contains 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Geographic Location; Place Based Education; Local History; Perspective Taking; Experience; Reader Text Relationship; Reading; Role; Information Seeking; Emotional Response; Emotional Experience; Recreational Reading; Identification (Psychology)

Abstract:
Place: what a great theme for an English teacher's conference, in this official Year of Reading. It's such a conceptually rich and emotionally resonant topic through which to explore the many pleasures and challenges of reading; for teachers, and for students. For place is not only a physical location; it is also a powerful idea and a powerfully lived experience. People forge their various identities--familial, cultural, sexual, vocational--in particular places. Places also have histories. Place can also be about the pleasure of recognition. The fiction of Tim Winton and Robert Drewe, for example, relies heavily on this kind of appeal. Readers recognise a beach or river, coastline or street, and experience a sense of personal connection, even ownership. While this sense of recognition, which gives value to the local and regional, is an important means of contesting the cultural cringe, it is also a parochial and deeply reassuring kind of pleasure, and is surely one of the reasons for the enduring popularity of these writers. But books can also imaginatively transport individuals to unknown or unfamiliar places, and in so doing educate, exhilarate or utterly confound them. Representations of place are always perspectival, mediated by the observer's values, beliefs, history, his or her position in different systems of power. The ideological nature of place is a crucial issue, precisely because it raises these important ethical and political questions about identity. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Educational Environment; Males; Recreational Reading; Adolescents; Reading Motivation; Student Attitudes; Internet; Libraries; Student Surveys; Foreign Countries; Secondary School Students

Abstract:
Boys' literacy has been, and continues to be, an area of concern for educationalists at all levels. The decline in boys' reading, which may have negative consequences for their learning, becomes more marked as they get older. This project examined possible reasons for this and implemented strategies designed to increase Year 13 boys' reading. The strategies, such as "speed-booking" and creating a community of readers, were successful in encouraging boys at this level to read more but it became apparent that the biggest deterrent to boys' reading at this level was a lack of time. The study also indicated that boys are reading significant amounts online but this is not acknowledged in the school environment. One way to encourage boys' literacy is to create intervals of time in which they can read freely and also acknowledge the wider literacies in which they engage. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Help Find in a Library

Descriptors:
Academic Libraries; Recreational Reading; Library Services; Reading Materials; Library Materials; Barriers; Public Libraries; Institutional Cooperation; Reading Programs

Abstract:
While recreational reading material was once an integral part of the academic library collection and librarians were seen as guides in reading development for students, this has not been the case in the last 50 years. Fiscal constraints have forced library professionals to make choices so that leisure reading material has not been viewed as a high priority. Instead, collection development has focused on materials that directly support academic research, and there has been a move away from books in favor of periodical literature. Many valid arguments can be made for the reintroduction of pleasure reading materials into academic library collections, or at least a retooling of existing collections to serve pleasure reading demands more effectively. For a minimal investment, academic libraries can raise their profile on campus and entice students into the building. Through readers' advisory conversations, librarians can engage students and teach them about the library classification and retrieval systems in a less intimidating way. In addition, libraries will better support the academic goals of the university by applying the wealth of research that indicates that reading helps to develop the critical thinking and writing skills of students. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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