Promoting reading 1
some of the stories of the participants about the
mselves as readers, and talks about practical concerns such as format and accessibility. The study also discussed the complex issue of what a reader is, as well as cultural attitudes towards alternative formats such as the audiobook. Hyder sees reading groups for the visually impaired from a social justice perspective, and also discusses to what extent reading groups are an effective means of social inclusion. Hyder’s study is interesting from both the accessibility perspective and the media perspective. Book circles and gender A research report that directly addresses the question of the reading promotion potential of book circles is Literature circles, Gender and Reading for Enjoyment (Ellis & Pearson 2005). The report is based on a research study conducted at the University of Stratchlyde in Glasgow and explains how teachers and students experienced literature circles at four schools in Scotland. The study showed the impact that literature circles had on reading ability, reading engagement and reading attitudes, in particular with regard to gender. The report concluded that the literature circles increased enthusiasm for reading as well as improved attitudes to reading and reading behaviours. Both the boys and girls who participated in the circles showed significantly more positive attitudes to reading in school and reading generally. According to the researchers, the literature circles function best when the teachers did preparatory work to facilitate the collaboration, when the students were involved in the choice of literature, and when the groups met at a predetermined time and on a regular basis. The study also showed that conducting literature circles led the teachers to question and develop their own approaches to their work with students’ reading ability and attitudes to reading. The students who participated in Ellis’ and Pearson’s study found enjoyment in articulating and communicating their own reading experiences. For the circle participants, the ultimate goal was not to come to grips with what they read, but saw the circle as the beginning of the creative interaction around the text. According to the report, belonging to a reading group led to the students becoming more deeply engaged with their reading. The literature circles offered the students a space to talk about books and define themselves as readers. This was particularly important for boys, whose social networks did not otherwise appear to offer any such opportunities. Ellis and Pearson summarise the report as follows: By participating in different types of literature circles, children can learn to become readers who read a lot and widely, and who regard reading as a social activity where they can make friends. One could add to this report a study by Norwegian library researcher Jofrid Karner Smidt (2012) that poses the hypothesis that men perceive reading literature as something private to a greater extent than women do. Smidt observes that literature serves a faintly symbolic, social purpose for a number of adult men interested in literature, which means that they position themselves outside the form of social influence that is so important for women’s interest in literature. When the literature has a social purpose, according to Karner Smidt, it is also likely that the reading of literature will increase. That reading is regarded as a private pursuit may contribute to many boys and men losing any motivation to read. If this is true, it provides a very strong argument for promoting social reading for boys and men in particular. 73