2020-2024

Reading for pleasure is important for social, emotional and academic development. It helps us relax, learn new things, and explore our emotions. But motivation to read often declines during the teenage years. We worked directly with young people to get their perspectives on why this is the case, and what they think we can do about it.

Project overview – what did we do?

We worked with Scottish Book Trust and a Young People’s Advisory Panel – made up of 6 secondary school pupils (13-14 years old) from across Scotland – to design, plan and carry out the research.

We interviewed over 50 young people (13-15 years old) about what helps them feel more (and less) motivated to read for pleasure. We are now working with Scottish Book Trust to develop several pilot projects based on the research findings, which we hope will support more young people to read for pleasure. 

How we worked with the Young People’s Advisory Panel

Why we adopted a participatory approach

Resources – promoting reading for pleasure

We’ve developed resources for high school teacher educators and librarians based on the findings from our research:

Guide for Teachers and Librarians: Supporting Teenagers’ Reading Enjoyment and Engagement:

Supporting Teenagers’ Reading Enjoyment and Engagement A Guide for Teachers and Librarians

Benefits of reading for pleasure:

• Why is reading especially important for teens?
• Connecting with fictional characters – what are the unique benefits of reading books?

Promoting reading for pleasure in school:

• What stops teenagers reading for pleasure?

• Motivating teenagers to read – how you can encourage reading for pleasure at school

• How can librarians support teenagers to read for pleasure?

Publications – academic research

• Using Participatory Approaches with Children and Young People to Research Volitional Reading. Webber, C., Santi, E., Calabrese, J., & McGeown, S. (2024). Language and Education.
• Working with a young people’s advisory panel to conduct educational research: Young people’s perspectives and researcher reflections. Webber, C., Wilkinson, K., Duncan, L., & McGeown, S. (2024). International Journal of Educational Research, 124. 
• Approaches for supporting adolescents’ reading motivation: existing research and future priorities. Webber, C., Wilkinson, K., Duncan, L., & McGeown, S. (2023). Frontiers in Education (Vol. 8, p. 1254048). Frontiers Media SA.
• Adolescents’ perspectives on the barriers to reading for pleasure. Webber, C., Wilkinson, K., Duncan, L. G., & McGeown, S. (2023). Literacy, e12359.

Get in touch:

Contact Charlotte Webber on C.Webber-1@sms.ed.ac.uk for:

• Talks and workshops about teenage reading or participatory research methods
• Information and further resources related to the project

Visit Charlotte Webber’s researcher profile for more information.

Project Team:

PhD Researcher: Charlotte Webber, University of Edinburgh

Young People’s Advisory Panel*: Teagan, Harry, Hannah, Sofia, Emily and Ava

First Supervisor: Dr Sarah McGeown, University of Edinburgh
Second Supervisor: Dr Lynne Duncan, University of Dundee
External Partner Supervisor: Katherine Wilkinson (Scottish Book Trust)

*some names may be pseudonyms, as requested by panel members

This project was preregistered – information can be found here:

The Young People’s Reading Project

This project has three phases, details provided below:

Phase 1: Young People’s Advisory Panel: https://osf.io/3jg9c

Aims:

1) To explore how adolescents perceive and talk about their own book reading experiences.

2) To develop themes for subsequent interviews with adolescents (Phase 2) and to co-design an interview schedule for the purpose of understanding and describing the breadth and diversity of adolescents’ book reading experiences.

3) To contribute towards methodological knowledge regarding ways in which researchers can work alongside adolescents to understand their authentic experiences, specifically evaluating youth advisory panels of a means of doing this.

Phase 2: Qualitative Study: https://osf.io/xrk6e

Aims:

1) Exploring how adolescents perceive and talk about their own book reading experiences

2) Exploring the motivators and barriers to reading as perceived by adolescents themselves

3) Contributing towards methodological knowledge regarding peer interviewing

This project is funded by the Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences and Scottish Book Trust. To learn more you can visit the project website or contact Charlotte Webber on C.Webber-1@sms.ed.ac.uk