A clue to the relationship of literature to adolescent development may lie in an understanding of the adolescent's evolving moral conscience. As the adolescent matures in terms of moral thinking, the meaning of particular literary experiences may shift dramatically. According to the theory developed by Kohlberg at Harvard University, individuals…

While English teachers want students to enjoy reading, to appreciate the beauty of literature, and to recognize the universality of the classics, many adolescent students do not become interested in the aesthetic aspect of literature until they are beyond high school age. Some works, outside the traditional literary canon, speak more directly to…

Noting that the decline in adult newspaper readership does not match the growth in the number of educated adults, a study queried (1) Which characteristics of news items most strongly predict readership levels? and (2) Is there any difference in the best set of predictors for the different age groups (older than and younger than 35)? A readership…

To investigate the relationship between newspaper readership and community involvement in a nonmetropolitan area, data were collected from a random sample of 300 residents of one California county. The county has one daily newspaper and four weeklies. Subjects were asked if they read a newspaper once a week or more, if they subscribed to any…

As the number of older adults in the United States increases, more must be understood about their reading behaviors so that adequate services might be provided for them. In addition, carefully documented reading behaviors might yield valuable clues to the early establishment of lifelong reading habits. With these goals in view, a study…

A two-part study was designed to measure the amount of good news and bad news in newspapers and to measure readers' recall of stories that represented good news and bad news. The stories used in the study appeared on the front pages and on one of the inside pages of eight California newspapers during October 1978. A total of 559 telephone…

Data from three studies were used to test the hypothesis that young people have greater interest in events outside their immediate locale than they have in local events. The basic data come from a 1974 survey of 830 people living in Virginia Beach, Virginia, drawing from three age groups: 18 to 24, 25 to 29, and 30 and older. Additional data were…

Research concerning teacher readership characteristics--the quality, quantity, and variety of leisure and professional reading--indicates that teachers' reading attitudes and interests reflect a disinterest in social issues as well as in professional literature. As far as book reading is concerned, research has revealed that on the average…

This 70-item bibliography presents a list of material published between 1978 and 1990 concerning gifted students and reading. The bibliography includes journal articles, books, and conference papers, and publications of ERIC clearinghouses. (RS)

A study examined how much time college students spend reading for pleasure, when they do the most pleasure reading, and whether or not parental encouragement plays a role in pleasure reading habits. Subjects, 219 female and 113 male college seniors at a small public liberal arts university, completed three questionnaires as part of the…

James Britton's model of the uses of language is discussed as a way to focus and organize studies of response to literature. After the model has been explicated, specific studies are discussed in relation to a number of research areas: early forms of literary experience, the child's developing "sense of story," the child's awareness that…

A study was conducted to establish whether optimum editorial mixes (mixes of items selected from content categories determined from factor analysis) can be determined by publications editors in attempting to provide wide audience appeal with a minimum number of stories. A questionnaire was designed to determine employee opinions of the Tennessee…

The major way teachers can motivate students to read is to be avid readers themselves. They need to read current young adult books to keep up with frequently changing trends. Preparing short book lists and giving book talks are other effective ways of encouraging students to read. Teachers might use a number of activities in place of book reports…

The "Texas Monthly," a one and a half year old magazine begun in February 1973, provides upper income readers with both booster and critical content. In its first year, the magazine moved from 10,000 circulation to 60,000, from six to thirty-five pages of ads, and from a staff of six to twenty-one. Nearly half of its readers are in the $20,000 and…

Suggests humorous ways to generate student interest in literature such as creating advertising campaigns for characters in fiction. (SRT)