Qualitative data analysis from open-ended comments written by 206 undergraduates illustrates student attitudes, beliefs, and practices that reveal an academic reading paradox. Consistently, undergraduates report that reading is valuable, yet their noncompliance with reading assignments suggests otherwise. Undergraduates report that they achieve…

Reading is a core element in language education. Despite extensive research in second/foreign language (L2/FL) reading, relatively little is known about the differences between two common practices: Compulsory reading (i.e. reading assigned by teachers) and voluntary reading (i.e. self-initiated reading). This article reports two related…

Despite the value of reading, research documents declining reading rates among American adolescents - a decline that exacerbates student dropout rates and academic performance. As a high school English teacher in a public, regional, suburban school, increasing the number of students who deeply read the assigned texts for class has been a…

The study evaluated reading habit among students in Ekiti State Secondary Schools. The study specifically examined the frequency and time of reading among Junior Secondary School students in Ekiti State, the extent students read, how teachers' attitudes affect their students reading habits, and ways reading habit can be improved. The descriptive…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the reading of a book-length fiction or non-fiction text in one disciplinary literacy (DL) teacher education course. This paper considers how the assignment may help pre- and in-service teachers understand literacy as multifaceted and connected within and beyond their content areas (Moje, 2015). The research…

Using the adapted version of the Elementary Reading Attitudes Survey by McKenna and Kear, 177 Grades 5-6 pupils in Bamban, Tarlac were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward reading. The survey confirmed the hypothesis that gender is indeed a determinant of the pupils' attitudes toward reading. While girls were found to have more positive…

A study into reading behavior and reading compliance among 2,600 students in five universities in Ecuador found that their reading behavior and reading compliance were better than among students in the United States, despite the challenges that exist in Ecuadorian higher education. Suggestions for future research, in particular with regard to…

This study illuminates faculty beliefs about reading by closely examining their attitudes toward assigned readings and faculty professional reading practice. Drawing upon interview data from instructors teaching in a range of disciplines at a two-year college, we suggest that conversations about reading would benefit from greater awareness of the…

Engaging students in completing assigned reading material, particularly textbooks, is a challenge faced by many college professors. Further, research has demonstrated student compliance is typically low with reading course textbooks. This study explores the impact of assigning content-specific books written for popular audiences and having…

This paper explores the potential for book-gifting programs to initiate cooperative learning between a dynamic whole group composed of children, parents and teachers. It uses the results from a series of book-gifting program evaluations (three Randomized Controlled Trials with N=1694 participants in total) and investigates whether the pattern of…

The literature reveals that no adequate instrument exists to measure college students' attitudes toward academic reading even though such attitudes are crucial for reading compliance and learning from text. To remedy this, the authors created and refined an attitude survey, administering it to 855 university students across four iterations. The…