Young people's frequency of engagement in reading books for pleasure markedly decreases as they move through the schooling years, reducing their exposure to this beneficial literacy practice. Young people's perceptions of the value of reading can be socially mediated, and positive perception of the value of reading is associated with frequency of…

Although teacher librarians play a role as literacy and literature educators in schools, little research attention is given to this role. In addition, the use of book discussion in school libraries to enhance reading engagement is not often closely considered as an educative practice. This paper draws on qualitative research findings from…

Regular recreational reading offers benefits across a range of literacy outcomes, as well as supporting learning in other subject areas, offering cognitive benefits, and potentially fostering empathy. Therefore, increasing frequency of engagement in recreational reading can play an important role in addressing inequity in literacy outcomes once…

Understanding how social influences can foster avid book reader identification is a key research goal that warrants further investigation beyond a limited early-years lens. The author's 2015 International Study of Avid Book Readers (ISABR) explored, as one of its key research questions, the influence positive social agents can have on avid book…

Silent reading and book discussion about books read for pleasure can increase reading frequency and support the strengthening of student engagement in the beneficial practice of recreational reading. However, little is known about children's attitudes toward and experiences of these pedagogical activities. Qualitative findings from 47 children…

The emphasis on schools' providing reading materials for students at home is very much on the primary school years, when the skill of reading is being acquired. Little consideration has been given to the impact of curtailing school-mediated access to books beyond this point. Regular recreational reading offers a wide range of benefit, and is…

The benefits of regular recreational reading for literacy development have been widely acknowledged, and as such, encouraging children to be life-long readers is an educational imperative. Teachers who are models of keen recreational reading can play an important role in fostering a keen love of reading in children, so that they regularly engage…

In late 2015, Scholastic, in conjunction with YouGov, conducted a survey to explore family attitudes and behaviours in Australia around reading books for fun. The key findings of this research, based on a nationally representative sample of 1,748 parents and children, including 358 parents of children aged 0-5; 695 parents of children aged 6-17;…

Enthusiasm for and a commitment to literature are the essential tools needed to successfully promote the enriching, challenging, and thought-provoking world of books. This paper focuses on the promotion of literature inside the classroom, inside the library, and in the wider community. Programs at Methodist Ladies' College (Australia), a boarding…