Blog Special Issues
How diverse practices, perspectives and experiences shape our reading engagement
This ½¿É«µ¼º½ Blog special issue discusses diverse practices, perspectives and experiences that influence reading engagement among children, young people and adults. It draws upon a number of current research projects from the . Within this lab, researchers collaborate with children, young people, teachers and other professionals to seek to better understand and support literacy experiences and outcomes.
The blog posts share recent research from the Literacy Lab’s community of early career researchers, both PhD and postdoctoral, who together are making a significant contribution to our understanding of the reading experiences and outcomes of children, young people and adults.
The series features contributions about:
What children say about books: 'I can drain all my emotions out on the book, so if I’ve had a hard day, I can just read’ ‘It’s quite nice to sort of feel like you’re sort of letting go...
Primary school curricula across the UK highlight the importance of reading for pleasure, for example: ‘The National Curriculum for England aims to ensure that all pupils: develop the habit of...
Reading to Dogs (RTD), which involves children reading to a registered dog (accompanied by a handler), is becoming increasingly popular in schools. Benefits to wellbeing and reading engagement are...
When teaching literacy in primary schools, it is essential that the books purchased and used reflect the rich and diverse society we live in, which means ensuring sufficient representation. In...
Augmented reality (AR) books offer new opportunities for interaction and engagement, augmenting a traditional paper book with digital features such as animations, sounds and graphics to provide a...
When and where do adults read? For how long at a time? Answers to these questions might be helpful in finding ways for more adults to incorporate reading for pleasure into their busy everyday...
Research has found adolescence (specifically 12–16 years old) to be associated with declines in reading motivation, enjoyment, attitude, frequency and engagement (see for example Clark, 2019)....
Adolescence is a significant period of identity development and social exploration, and narrative fiction can help adolescent readers to explore personally meaningful content (Picton & Clark,...
Reading fiction has a range of established benefits for learning, providing a strong foundation for the development of vocabulary knowledge and literacy-related skills (Mar & Rain, 2015; Mol &...
Professor of Literacy at University of Edinburgh
Sarah McGeown is Professor of Literacy (Psychology & Education) based within Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh. She is an advocate for raising awareness of the value and methodological considerations...
Early Career Researcher at University of Edinburgh
Jill Steel is a former primary school teacher and lecturer in childhood practice, and is currently an early career researcher (ECR) at the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education and Sport. Jill’s interest in Reading to Dogs...
Reading fiction has a range of established benefits for learning, providing a strong foundation for the development of vocabulary knowledge and literacy-related skills (Mar & Rain, 2015; Mol &...
Continue reading blog postAdolescence is a significant period of identity development and social exploration, and narrative fiction can help adolescent readers to explore personally meaningful content (Picton & Clark,...
Continue reading blog postAugmented reality (AR) books offer new opportunities for interaction and engagement, augmenting a traditional paper book with digital features such as animations, sounds and graphics to provide a...
Continue reading blog postResearch has found adolescence (specifically 12–16 years old) to be associated with declines in reading motivation, enjoyment, attitude, frequency and engagement (see for example Clark, 2019)....
Continue reading blog postPrimary school curricula across the UK highlight the importance of reading for pleasure, for example: ‘The National Curriculum for England aims to ensure that all pupils: develop the habit of...
Continue reading blog postWhen teaching literacy in primary schools, it is essential that the books purchased and used reflect the rich and diverse society we live in, which means ensuring sufficient representation. In...
Continue reading blog postReading to Dogs (RTD), which involves children reading to a registered dog (accompanied by a handler), is becoming increasingly popular in schools. Benefits to wellbeing and reading engagement are...
Continue reading blog postWhen and where do adults read? For how long at a time? Answers to these questions might be helpful in finding ways for more adults to incorporate reading for pleasure into their busy everyday...
Continue reading blog postWhat children say about books: 'I can drain all my emotions out on the book, so if I’ve had a hard day, I can just read’ ‘It’s quite nice to sort of feel like you’re sort of letting go...
Continue reading blog post
