Motivation and engagement play a crucial role in literacy development and achievement. However, the construct of reading engagement has become blurred and ambiguous, both in research and in discussions of practice. In order to guide future research and to extend our existing understanding of reading engagement into classroom practice, this study…

Interviews 1124 Danish adults about reading habits/skills, and tests 445 individually at home using six common texts covering types of everyday reading. Finds that 3% of participants have severe functional reading difficulties; another 9% have moderate difficulties. Pinpoints several predictors of reading difficulties: age, limited basic…

Explores changes in reading behavior in Israel between 1970 and 1990. Shows that: electronic media has not displaced print media, the majority of the population uses all the available print media, active reading correlates with activities considered high culture, newspapers are less functional, and traditional illiteracy is making a comeback due…

Examines some national surveys that are in the ERIC data base that provide information about the reading habits and preferences of American readers. (HOD)

This resource packet presents information on youth literacy in three main sections. The first section presents statistics on literacy; facts about literacy; reading in Indiana middle, junior, and senior high schools; and family reading. The packet's second section contains a bibliography and resources, offering a reading and literacy bibliography,…

As a response to the close of the 1972 International Book Year sponsored by UNESCO, this study was suggested concerning the reading habits of people throughout the world. A concern was expressed that without reading practice reading skills already learned would be quickly lost and life-long education would not take place. The author surveyed…

Describes the preresearch activities in Project I, part of the Phase One projects in the Targeted Research and Development Program in Reading (TRDPR) sponsored by the U.S. Office of Education. (MB)

Evidence that shows the value of free voluntary reading (FVR) for language acquisition and literacy development is reviewed. Additional evidence is reported showing the advantages of FVR as a source of ideas and information, contributor to life success, and inhibitor of verbal memory decline. (Contains 34 references.) (LB)

A series of three studies investigated how school book clubs fit into the elementary language arts curriculum and how they contribute to children's literacy. Study 1 interviewed 71 administrators, teachers, and parents by telephone and also interviewed parents and students in urban, rural, and suburban schools in different parts of the United…

Noting that what becomes of reluctant readers should be of great concern to a nation that advocates education and has traditionally been committed to principles of the higher order, this paper identifies the characteristics of reluctant or unmotivated readers and discusses what happens to them. Following background reflection on the limits people…

Argues, based on ethnographic data, that students use their literacy practices to form their identities within, and sometimes in opposition to, the figured worlds of school, work and family. Concludes that many students look to school to provide formal literacy experiences, but find their reading and writing passions at odds with the demands of…

Reviews research on the average reading level in the United States, on how well the average American needs to read, and on what the average American can and does read. (MKM)

Considers literacy survey findings of year 7 students who had experienced difficulties with reading. Highlights the range of texts and events that these students chose to engage with outside school and the mismatch between home and school literacy. Suggests a need to go beyond the traditional reading test to uncover the texture of literacy…

Most educators argue that the time children spend watching television detracts from their homework time and leisure time reading, that television watching cultivates skills different from those needed for print literacy and encourages preference for its easier means of acquiring information, and that television content is often nonintellectual and…

Identifies recurrent uses of reading and shared reading activities. Finds no quantitatively significant differences in shared literacy activities between urban and nonurban families in Iceland, a society with a tradition of widespread and prevalent literacy. Demonstrates significant relationships between shared activities and higher educational…