Approaches for supporting adolescents’ reading motivation: existing research and future priorities

Abstract

Research has consistently demonstrated declines in reading motivation and engagement from childhood to adolescence, with current levels of reading enjoyment and engagement among adolescents at an all-time low. This has led to increased interest in approaches for supporting adolescents’ reading motivation. To date, efforts to support adolescent reading motivation have utilized a variety of approaches, yet there is currently no review which synthesizes existing research in this area and provides recommendations for future research and practice. Drawing upon both narrative and scoping review principles, this review synthesizes 38 peer-reviewed articles and research reports which have evaluated approaches for improving adolescents’ (12–16 years old) reading motivation. The article outlines the breadth and scope of approaches which have been used previously, categorized into five types: (1) reading and literacy skills programs; (2) whole-school reading culture; (3) book clubs; (4) technology-supported interventions; and (5) performance and theater. The review also identifies gaps and issues relating to the current body of research and proposes priorities for future work in this area. Together, the findings and recommendations address calls to dedicate renewed and sustained attention to supporting adolescents’ reading motivation and engagement and provide a point of reference for researchers and education practitioners seeking to select, develop, and implement strategies for supporting adolescents’ reading motivation in the future.

Adolescents' perspectives on the barriers to reading for pleasure

“…Despite this, the perception remains that adolescents should take responsibility for their own reading motivation and practices. By acknowledging the imbalance of power that exists between adults and adolescents (see Heath et al, 2009;Bennett and Brunner, 2022), and by meaningfully involving adolescents in reading research and practice, their experiences and needs can be at the heart of the work which seeks to support them (Webber et al, 2022b;Webber et al, 2023).…”

“…Such changes have the potential to exert significant effects on adolescents' motivation and ability to read for pleasure and represent a distinctly different context from childhood, yet these factors are often not considered within the discourse surrounding adolescent reading motivation. Furthermore, the majority of reading motivation research has used quantitative data gathering methods to measure reading motivation (Conradi et al, 2014); however, this approach is largely unsuited to understanding adolescents' own perspectives of their reading experiences and what does (and does not) motivate them to read (Webber et al, 2022b;Webber et al, 2023). To date, and to the best of our knowledge, there is no large-scale qualitative research that seeks to explore young adolescents' perceptions of barriers to their reading for pleasure.…”