Promoting reading 1
number of books during the summer break, any othe
r result would of course be surprising. Incentive programmes can markedly increase the number of books that children read. The extent to which they also lead to a positive attitude to reading and motivation to read more is dependent on whether the greater volume of reading has helped the child to achieve increased fluency in his or her reading; and if the greater volume of reading has resulted in the child being offered a body of reading material that he or she found to be important and interesting. Whether or not external rewards can generate reading motivation in children or, on the contrary, undermine their motivation is one of the many controversies of reading research. There has been criticism that rewards risk becoming the sole reason for children to read, with the result that reading motivation ceases at the moment that the reward is no longer present. There are studies that indicate that rewards do not appreciably affect reading motivation, but there are also investigations showing that rewards have had a negative impact on intrinsic reading motivation. A number of researchers have found that rewards related to reading, such as books, have a positive impact on motivation. Researchers who have investigated the effects of rewards on attitudes to reading have similarly advocated reading related rewards. A number of primarily Canadian, US and UK studies have reported the positive effects of summer reading programmes on students’ reading abilities, reading habits, reading enjoyment, self-confidence and library use. The reading abilities of students with similar social backgrounds who did and did not participate in such programmes, respectively, have also been compared and significant differences were noted. One of these studies found that children who participated in a summer reading programme for only a short period read at a higher level than children who did not participate at all. This begs the question of whether this higher level of reading ability is due to the programme or, on the contrary, have students participated in the programme because of it. Such questions, however, are rarely asked, if at all, in these kinds of evaluations. The research literature on summer reading programmes often deals with the extent to which the programmes have managed to counteract Summer Learning Loss. A large number of articles have been written on this subject. For example, researchers have pointed to the fact that reading 4–5 books over the summer is enough in itself to have a decisive impact on the losses that occur as a result of the holiday break. A number of major studies have attempted to answer the question of the effects of summer reading programmes on students’ grades. There is evidence for summer reading programmes being able to play a significant role in bridging reading gaps and that public libraries have a vital role to play. The suggestions for best practice for summer reading programmes include well-defined target groups, effective marketing strategies and evaluation methods, and experienced staff. The literature on summer reading programmes also points to the importance of effective marketing of the programmes to parents with children of school age, and that libraries should stress the educational benefits of summer reading programmes to parents. Furthermore, summer reading programmes should be characterised by effective collaboration with schools. Schools can identify groups of children and families to offer practical support to allow them to participate, and monitor the progress students make in relation to the programme. In addition, schools can make personal contacts with parents, and encourage siblings, older friends, 111