Why should children read in their leisure time? Reading may contribute to the acquisition of reading literacy and may foster integral human development. However, there has been a scarcity of research on determinants of leisure time reading among elementary school students, especially regarding environmental aspects. In this article, the authors report on the development of a differentiated questionnaire regarding these determinants. Based on a previous series of qualitative and quantitative pilot studies, a study with 980 elementary school students was conducted, applying scales based on behavioral beliefs (motivation in action, thematically congruent consequences, and thematically incongruent costs and benefits), normative beliefs (subjective norm), and control beliefs (self‐efficacy and controllability) as predictors of leisure time reading. After excluding motivation in action from analysis because of multicollinearity problems, the variables thematically incongruent costs and benefits, self‐efficacy, and controllability explained 50% of variance in the criterion reading frequency. Analyses of covariance indicated that children, especially daughters, of mothers with high educational attainment showed significantly more leisure time reading. The benefits of focusing on students’ beliefs and of including environmental aspects in research on leisure time reading are discussed.

No abstract

No abstract

It is desirable that children engage in reading and writing beyond school. What is known about various individual and environmental variables that may be related to children’s leisure reading and writing? And how strong is existing evidence? Our scoping review aims at mapping research on leisure reading and writing in first- to fourth-graders. Using content analysis, we extracted 135 research findings, among them only 6 on leisure writing. In most findings, leisure reading and writing were considered as consequences of variables like reading competence, motivation, and attitudes. Considerably fewer findings included leisure reading and writing as antecedents. We discuss the need for more longitudinal and experimental studies and a stronger focus on the connection between leisure reading and writing.

There is a discrepancy between a high inherent value of extracurricular music classes and a low proportion of low-socioeconomic status (SES) male participants. However, evidence on how to match out-of-school music classes to students’ preferences is lacking. Thus, we assessed the attractiveness of different versions of such classes via an experimental video vignette study featuring a 2 × 2-factor (setting × music; each with high vs. low proximity to informal youth culture) between-subjects design with N = 244 students (Grade 5–10). We assessed the intention to participate as criterion, and gender, age, and SES (highest International Socio-Economic Index [HISEI] quartile) as control variables. A hierarchical regression showed a positive effect of music associated with youth culture on intention and no effect of the setting. Female (and older) students displayed higher intention than male (and younger) students. The single effect involving HISEI was a significant interaction of music and SES, which resulted from high-SES adolescents being especially motivated for classes with music associated with youth culture. Thus, to motivate boys and older students in particular, special consideration should be given to the appropriate design and marketing of music classes. However, music close to youth culture might be especially beneficial for adolescents with high rather than low SES.