Reading for pleasure: benefits and challenges www.research–rich-pedagogies/readingforpleasure © 1985 Anthony Browne From WILLY THE CHAMP by Anthony Browne Reproduced by kind permission of Walker Books Ltd

In this session, we will… examine research regarding the benefits and challenges of developing RfP highlight research evidence on ways to effectively foster RfP www.research–rich-pedagogies/readingforpleasure

RfP: significant benefits International evidence demonstrates that RfP is associated with: increased attainment in literacy and numeracy (e.g. Sullivan and Brown, 2015) success in formal schooling (e.g. Chema, 2018; Schugar and Dreher, 2017) improved general knowledge and vocabulary (e.g. Clark and Rumbold, 2006; Sullivan and Brown, 2015) identity explorations (e.g. Rothbauer, 2004) the development of imagination, empathy and mindfulness of others (e.g. Kidd & Costano, 2013; ) the creation of reader to reader relationships and communities of readers (e.g. Cremin et al, 2014) Engagement in reading can be a consequence, as well as a cause, of higher reading skill. The will influences the skill and vice versa (OECD, 2010)

RfP: A national challenge Children’s attitudes to reading in England were comparatively low compared to their skills in PIRLS (McGrane et al., 2017) In English speaking countries, England had the lowest ranking for enjoyment and the lowest for pupil engagement in reading in PIRLS except Australia (McGrane et al, 2017) Teachers’ perceptions of gender, social class and ethnicity constrain the engagement of struggling boy readers (Hempel-Jorgensen, Cremin, Harris and Chamberlain, 2018) The backwash of assessment tends to frame RfP pedagogy (Hempel Jorgensen et al., 2018) Teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature is dominated by ‘celebrity’ authors and childhood favourites. This is arguably insufficient to support reader development (Cremin et al., 2008, 2009; Clark and Teravainen, 2015) Professional conceptions of reading and RfP tend to be book bound (Burnett and Merchant, 2018)

Professional tensions and challenges Reading instruction Reading for pleasure

Reading Instruction Reading for Pleasure is oriented towards: Learning to read   Choosing to read The skill The will Decoding and comprehension Engagement and response System readers Lifelong readers Teacher direction Child direction Teacher ownership Child ownership Attainment Achievement The minimum entitlement: The maximum entitlement: The “expected standard” A reader for life The standards agenda The reader’s own agenda Distinctions between reading instruction and RfP (Cremin et al., 2014: 157)

To develop children’s RfP, research shows that teachers need:   To develop children’s RfP, research shows that teachers need: Considerable knowledge of children’s lit & other texts Knowledge of children’s reading practices An RfP pedagogy, encompassing: social reading environments reading aloud informal book talk, inside-text talk and recommendations independent reading time To be Reading Teachers - teachers who read and readers who teach To develop reciprocal and interactive reading communities. (Cremin et al., 2014)

The Teachers as Readers project found that when teachers widen their knowledge and pleasure in reading children’s literature and other texts, and become more aware of their own and the children’s reading practices, they reconceptualise reading from the inside out, and more effectively build a reading for pleasure pedagogy and strong communities of readers within and beyond school. (Cremin et al., 2014)

The project website www.research–rich-pedagogies/readingforpleasure

Onsite: For each research finding there are… Self review documents Practical classroom strategies More research details PowerPoints for CPD Film clips/interviews Examples of Practice (250 +!) Also: A school development section Children’s surveys Top texts each month News and events Authors in the spotlight

Offsite opportunities OU/UKLA Teachers’ Reading Groups across the UK (80 +! ) OU/UKLA Conferences 2019-2020 Nov 2nd Birmingham Nov 30th Bristol UWE Mar 14th Cambridge University Egmont RfP Award 2019 with OU and UKLA Deadline Jan 2020 Sign up to the monthly newsletter to keep up to date and get new ideas!

Do join this professional community to develop a richer reading culture in school https://researchrichpedagogies.org © Anthony Browne 1985

References Burnett, C. and Merchant, G. (2018) Affective encounters: enchantment and the possibility of reading for pleasure, Literacy 52 (2): 62-69. Chema, J. (2018) Adolescents’ enjoyment of reading as a predictor of reading achievement: new evidence from a cross-country survey Journal of Research in Reading 00.00 1–14. Clark, C, and Teravainen, A. (2017) What it means to be a reader at age 11: valuing skills, affective components and behavioural processes. London: National Literacy Trust for Read on Get on. Cremin, T, Mottram, M., Collins, F. and Powell, S. (2014) Building Communities of Engaged Readers: Reading for pleasure, London: Routledge. Cremin, T., Mottram, M., Collins, F., Powell, S. and Safford, K. (2009) Teachers as readers: building communities of readers, Literacy 43 (1): 11-19. Cremin, T., Bearne, E., Mottram, M. and Goodwin, P. (2008) Exploring teachers knowledge of children’s literature, Cambridge Journal of Education, 38 (4):449-464. Hempel Jorgensen, A. Cremin, T. Harris, D. and Chamberlain, L. (2018) Understanding boys’ (dis)engagement with reading for pleasure Literacy 52 (2): 86-94. Kidd, D. and Castano, E. (2013) Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind Science 342(6156):377-390.

References, cont’d. McGrane, J., Stiff, J., Baird, J., Lenkeit, J. & Hopfenbeck-Oxford, T. (2017) Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS): National Report for England Department for Education McGeown, S., Norgate, R., & Warhurst, A. (2012). Exploring intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation among very good and very poor readers. Educational Research, 54(3): 309-322. OECD (2010) PISA 2009 Results: Learning to Learn – Student Engagement, Strategies and Practices (Vol III). http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264083943-en Rothbauer, P.M. (2004) Reading practices that inform personal and social identities of self. Canadian Journal of Information and Library science. 28 (3): 53-74. Schugar, H. & Dreher, M. (2017) ‘U. S. Fourth Graders’ Informational Text Comprehension: Indicators from NAEP’ International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education 9.3 523-552 Sullivan, A. and Brown, M. (2015) Reading for pleasure and progress in vocabulary and mathematics British Educational Research Journal, 41 (6) :971-991.