Pre-service teacher knowledge of children's literature and attitudes to Reading for Pleasure: an international comparative study

Farrar, J. and Simpson, A. (2023) Pre-service teacher knowledge of children's literature and attitudes to Reading for Pleasure: an international comparative study. Literacy, (doi: 10.1111/lit.12360) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

Reading for Pleasure (RfP) acknowledges the importance of reader engagement and the role of the teacher as a reader of children's literature. The foundational work of the Teachers as Readers (TARs) programme successfully illustrated the impact of RfP activities on student learning. Previous studies of teachers' reader identities have shown a strong need for professional learning to boost teachers' confidence with children's literature. However, less emphasis has been placed on the adoption of RfP pedagogy within initial teacher education (ITE) to develop pre-service teachers' (PST) knowledge of children's literature, as well as their understanding of teachers as reading role models for future students. This paper analyses data from research into RfP undertaken in two ITE programmes for primary teachers informed by contrasting policies in Scotland and Australia. Though both countries aim to improve school student literacy success, the curriculum mandates differ, shaping the potential pathways available in ITE courses. It is within this context that we report on 3 years of data on PST reader knowledge collected from 300 students using survey tools adopted from the original TARs study. Emerging findings provide evidence that teacher educators need to act as circuit breakers to alter PST attitudes to reading.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Funding: Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Sydney, as part of the Wiley - The University of Sydney agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Farrar, Dr Jennifer
• Authors: Farrar, J., and Simpson, A.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Pedagogy, Praxis & Faith
• Journal Name: Literacy
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 1741-4350
• ISSN (Online): 1741-4369
• Published Online: 30 December 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Literacy 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license