‘Fitting in’ and ‘standing out’: the peer group and young people’s development of reader identity

Sellers, Chelsea

doi:10.1080/01425692.2019.1622407

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Especially this one." Sellers (2019) defines "a reading identity" as related to an individual's "ways of reading, of being a reader, and the extent to which they view themselves as 'someone who reads'" (p. 938), exploring the role that the peer group may play in this identity formation. With reading and being a reader influenced by an individual's broader social influences, the affordance of reader-supportive spaces such as school libraries where students can connect with like-minded peers can be important to support the orientation of students who identify as readers.…”

Section: Belonging and Sanctuarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Libraries as Wellbeing Supportive Spaces in Contemporary Schools

Merga

2021

Journal of Library Administration

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Schools are increasingly concerned with the promotion of student wellbeing, and relatively little is known about school libraries as wellbeing supportive spaces in contemporary schools. This article draws on qualitative interview data from students and library managers to explore how students make use of the school library, and how this relates to the library as a safe space. It finds that school libraries can be highly valued for their capacity to foster belonging and sanctuary and allow exposure to books and opportunities for reading. Students also appreciated how libraries provided a space for relaxing and recharging, supporting lively and social activities as well as quietude. There was recognition of the role of supportive library staff, who created inviting and supportive environments with careful selection of furnishings and decorations.

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Section: Belonging and Sanctuarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Libraries as Wellbeing Supportive Spaces in Contemporary Schools

Merga

2021

Journal of Library Administration

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“…Indeed, Frankel (2016;2017;2019b) rightly highlights the need for more research adopting a sociocultural approach to understand how classroom practices (e.g., messages about reading) influence students' perceptions of a reader. Furthermore, Sellers (2019) recently discussed the role of peer groups in young adolescents' development of their reader identity.…”

Section: Limitations and Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies of reader identity among school populations most commonly make the distinction between students who self-identify as good/skilled readers and those that self-identify as poor/struggling/non-readers (e.g., Clark, Osborne, and Akerman, 2008;Hall, 2012Hall, , 2016), although there are exceptions. For example, Sellers (2019) recognised four reader identities: the resistant reader, the indifferent reader, the outsider reader and the social reader. The reader identities children and adolescents construct are shaped by past and current reading experiences (successful or not), their environment (home and school) and messages conveyed by important others (i.e., family, peers and school) (Clark et al, 2008;Frankel, 2017;Glenn, Ginsberg, and King-Watkins, 2017;Sellers, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Sellers (2019) recognised four reader identities: the resistant reader, the indifferent reader, the outsider reader and the social reader. The reader identities children and adolescents construct are shaped by past and current reading experiences (successful or not), their environment (home and school) and messages conveyed by important others (i.e., family, peers and school) (Clark et al, 2008;Frankel, 2017;Glenn, Ginsberg, and King-Watkins, 2017;Sellers, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Growing up a reader: Exploring children’s and adolescents’ perceptions of ‘a reader’

McGeown

Bonsall

Andries

et al. 2020

Educational Research

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BackgroundOver the last two decades, the reading habits of children and adolescents have evolved.Research shows some similarities in the reading experiences of children and adolescents, but there are also differences. For example, adolescents are more likely to read digitally and generally report poorer attitudes towards reading. With this in mind, we asked: how do young people define a reader? Purpose This small scale, in-depth study sought to understand how children and adolescents describe 'a reader' and examine similarities and differences in their responses. MethodsIn total, 33 children aged 9-11and 30 adolescents aged 15-16 from one primary school and one secondary school in the UK were individually interviewed, to explore their perceptions and descriptions of a reader. Using a participatory approach, adult researchers interviewed student researchers, who then in turn interviewed their peers. Transcribed data were analysed qualitatively, using a data-driven, inductive thematic analysis approach. ResultsOur analysis revealed some common themes in terms of children and adolescents' perceptions of a reader. For example, readers were described as those who enjoy reading, read frequently, choose to read and, primarily, read print books. Readers were also described as those who are skilled at reading. However, subtle differences between children and adolescents were also found. For example, adolescents were more likely to say that readers choose a broader range of reading matter and did not need to read as frequently to be described a reader. Conclusions and implicationsOur analysis offers insights into how children and adolescents defined a reader. Understanding more about how children and young people describe readers may help teachers who are working towards strengthening reading cultures in their primary or secondary school contexts. Broadening the conceptualisation of what it means to be a reader could arguably lead to a more inclusive use of the term and ultimately encourage more children and adolescents to selfidentify as readers. Further, from a methodological point of view, we encourage researchers to consider a participatory research approach where appropriate, as this involvement in the research process can support primary and secondary school students in the development of their own research skills.

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“…Edmunds and Bauserman, 2006; Eriksson Barajas and Aronsson, 2009; Glenn et al, 2018) have been used; however, discussions among children (Hall, 2012; Levy and Thompson, 2015; Maine, 2014), written reflections (Hall, 2016), observations of classroom, library or community literacy practices (Frankel, 2017; Hall, 2012; Pahl and Allan, 2011), photographs and videos (Pahl and Allan, 2011), scrapbooks (Pahl and Allan, 2011), the collection of artefacts (e.g. photographs of students' literacy work) (Frankel, 2017; Pahl and Allan, 2011) or visual mappings of children's reading journeys via rivers/roads to chart their reading histories (Cremin et al, 2014; Sellers, 2019) have also been applied. Indeed, literacy research to date has employed a broad range of innovative methodological approaches, yet it is rare for the methodological knowledge acquired to be shared to improve the use of these methods for other literacy researchers or practitioners (although see Levy and Thompson, 2015; Pahl and Allan, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A reflective account of using child‐led interviews as a means to promote discussions about reading

Webber

Wilkinson²,

Andries

et al. 2021

Literacy

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This article provides a reflective account of the participatory methodology employed in the Growing up a Reader research study. The aim of the Growing up a Reader study was to explore children's (age 9-11) perceptions of a 'reader' and their reasons for reading different text types. This involved training 12 primary school children as student interviewers. Students were interviewed by the adult research team and then interviewed peers themselves (n = 21). For the purpose of this reflection, a data-driven inductive thematic analysis of the interviews was conducted and comparisons were drawn between those led by children and those led by adults. Child-led interviews were more likely to lead to natural discussions about reading as students engaged in the co-creation of knowledge surrounding their shared reading experiences. Child-led interviews also featured creative communication styles and reflexive use of language to understand each other's reading experiences. Reflections upon child-led interviews as a tool for deepening understanding of children's literary experiences are made in order to provide methodological insights relevant for both researchers and practitioners seeking to use participatory methods to collaborate with children. Limitations regarding training and support, and ethical and epistemological considerations regarding adult input are also discussed.

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‘Fitting in’ and ‘standing out’: the peer group and young people’s development of reader identity

Cited by 13 publications

References 30 publications

Libraries as Wellbeing Supportive Spaces in Contemporary Schools

Libraries as Wellbeing Supportive Spaces in Contemporary Schools

Growing up a reader: Exploring children’s and adolescents’ perceptions of ‘a reader’

A reflective account of using child‐led interviews as a means to promote discussions about reading

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