The author reflects on the development of her own reading life and how that rich reading life failed to influence how she taught reading early in her career. During graduate studies, while researching in classrooms where reading workshop was the instructional model and through talking to those exemplary teachers, the author came to understand both…

Despite a growing research base that explores motivational constructs in reading and their relationship to achievement, nuanced questions remain. The present study examines the complex relationships among attitudes, proficiency, grade, and gender. Attitudes were differentiated by purpose (recreational vs. academic) and medium (digital vs. print),…

This mixed-methods study reports the findings of the integration of Web 2.0 tools in a one-semester extensive reading project. 27 Turkish-L1 learners of English read graded readers based on their proficiency, identified using a level test. Then they were asked to use various Web 2.0 tools to prepare a post-reading activity for each book they read…

The ability to read relies upon not just decoding, but also comprehending text. Being a good comprehender requires strategic reading and implies the use of comprehension strategies. Research indicates that readers who are taught several reading comprehension strategies have better reading skills than those only taught a single strategy. One…

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between metacognitive awareness of reading strategies (MARS), and academic attainments (AA) of undergraduate business students. It also investigated the relationship between reading practices (RP) and MARS. There are three different categories of MARS -- global, problem solving, and support…

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…

Background: There has been an increasing interest in negative or 'undermining' motivations for reading. In this study, we aimed to strengthen knowledge on the validity of the distinction between affirming and undermining motivations. First, we examined whether the structure of a questionnaire based on this distinction could be confirmed. Second,…

This study aimed to explore the magazines and topics that female college students like to read, and the topics that senior and junior high school reading textbooks contain. Findings of questionnaire-surveys with female college students at King Saud University revealed that 77% of the students read women's magazines; 77% like to read about fashion…

This article examines the effects of a reading fluency intervention on the fluency and comprehension of struggling middle school readers. The secondary fluency routine was developed by the first author, and was based on effective practices described in other studies. Thirty-nine seventh and eighth grade students enrolled in reading intervention…

England's Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP) commissioned the National Literacy Trust to conduct a survey at the start of a Strategic School Improvement Fund (SSIF) project to improve reading in primary schools in the city. The survey was based on a questionnaire used nationally to gather responses from nearly 50,000 children and young people…

According to the latest data from UNESCO, there remain 750 million people around the world who cannot read and write. Two thirds of them are female. In 2018, the ILA Board of Directors convened a task force charged with developing a worldwide campaign around children's rights to read--and what needs to be done to ensure these fundamental rights.…

School leadership research offers prescriptions for strong instructional and culturally relevant leadership for diverse and urban adolescent populations, yet little evidence describes how school principals impact adolescents' in-school reading experiences. This qualitative inquiry sought to understand how one urban secondary principal perceived…

New research findings are presented in this paper, responding to a significant knowledge gap about the role of pedagogy in tackling persistent educational inequalities. The paper examines the potential of reading for pleasure (RfP) pedagogy to disrupt 'pedagogy of poverty' in low socio-economic (SES) schools and to enable children to reap the…

Reading skills are an important component of academic success for school-age youth, and are associated with increased academic performance and positive attitudes about school. The presence of an animal appears to reduce stress during reading. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess the feasibility and effects of a 6-week after-school…

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…