Reluctant Readers: why reading reluctance is a growing problem and what teachers can do to help

Introduction

Many teachers will be familiar with the concept of ‘reluctant readers’ – students who are capable of reading but who, for a variety of reasons, are reluctant to do so. There have been several studies over the years showing that reading reluctance increases in adolescence¹, that struggling readers are particularly susceptible² and that boys on average tend to be more averse to reading a book than girls³.

Teachers’ views of the problem are less well known. How widespread do they believe reading reluctance is? What impact do they think it has on the wider school curriculum? Do teachers in international schools believe the problem applies to their students too? Are EAL students are particular risk? Do they think the problem is getting worse and, if so, how should it be tackled?

To answer these questions, GL Education surveyed a sample of teachers at international schools as well as polling teachers in the UK⁴. On the whole, the findings from international schools largely mirrored those of their colleagues in the UK – with some variations. By large majorities, teachers around the world feel that reading reluctance is an issue, that it is on the increase and that it is especially apparent in ‘average’ to ‘below average’ readers in the 12-14 age group, who they fear will suffer academically if that weakness isn’t addressed.

The main findings are outlined below, but the key thing to consider is that this average/just below average cohort of students represents 49% of all students⁵. And while their reading may seem superficially fine at age 12, progress often stalls in later years. By boosting this group’s reading skills, schools will significantly improve students’ academic performance across the board in all subjects by the time they sit high-stakes exam work.

Elsewhere in this report, reading experts and teachers at a mixed-ability international school in Brunei outline how they identify these ‘invisible but struggling’ reluctant readers, why addressing the issue early is imperative, and what interventions are best for which groups and individuals, while Georgina Cook, our Assessment Owner for our attainment tests, explains exactly what New Group Reading Test data is and how schools can get the most out of it.

Senior schools understandably often concentrate on helping the very weakest readers – but statistically these represent only 11% of all students. As our experts point out, the much larger numbers of ‘invisible but struggling’ readers also need support – and when they receive it, the improvement in reading proficiency can be phenomenal.

Main findings

The ‘invisible but struggling’ readers

Not only do most teachers in international schools think that reading reluctance is a growing problem, but they also believe progress tends to stall in students with ‘average’ or ‘below average’ reading scores, which leaves those students ill-equipped to access the curriculum.

• 8 in 10 teachers (79%) think that there has been an increase in reluctant readers over the past three years – very few (9%) disagree
• A similar number (81%) say they have noticed that reading ability tends to stall among average or below average students aged 12-14, leaving them unable to access the curriculum as they approach high stakes exam work. This is an even higher number than in the UK, where 67% agreed
• Three-quarters (75%) agree that if students cannot read at the expected level for their year group, they won’t be able to access the curriculum.

Lisa Ling, Words for All co-creator at Whole Education, characterises these students as the ‘invisible but struggling’ readers. “They can read enough to get by, but they don’t really understand most of every lesson. These are the key group, those who made the most progress – this is where you can get your quick wins.”

Teacher training is key

Respondents also tend to agree that more training for both teachers and students is part of the solution:

• Three-fifths of respondents (59%) feel they need more training in how to develop students’ reading and vocabulary skills – which was far higher than the number who feel the same in the UK (43%). A fifth (19%) disagree, compared to a third (33%) in the UK
• Three-quarters (75%) say there needs to be more training in developing their students’ reading and vocabulary skills – which again was a higher figure than the UK equivalent (61%)
• Four-fifths (80%) agree that teachers require more training to support EAL students’ reading and literacy needs
• A similar number (81%) say that teachers need more training to understand the link between oracy and reading.

Beth Morrish, Director of Secondary Literacy and Lead for Professional Learning at Meridian Trust, points out that senior school teachers can underestimate how complex the process of reading and learning to read is, but this doesn’t mean we should expect them to teach struggling students how to read. “The point isn’t that they become teachers of readers, but that they become classroom practitioners who enable struggling readers to access their lessons. If primary school is about learning to read; at secondary it’s about reading to learn.”

Developing a proper reading strategy

However, while most respondents say that reading is a strategic priority for their school, there is less consensus over responsibility for delivery:

• An overwhelming majority of teachers (86%, compared to 65% in the UK) say supporting students with reading is a strategic priority for their school leadership team
• Three-quarters (76%) also agree that supporting EAL students with reading and literacy is a strategic priority for their senior leadership team
• There was near unanimity that all subject leaders should take responsibility for developing reading skills in their lessons – (97%, compared to 80% in the UK) agree
• And similar numbers (94%) agree that it is the responsibility of all educators to support EAL students with their reading and literacy
• On the other hand, a majority (56%) of respondents say responsibility for reading rests with English departments in their school – 40% say it doesn’t.

Lisa Ling emphasises that a school can’t just pick a strategy off a shelf and hope it will work: “It sounds easy, getting children to read, but so much complexity is involved in implementing a proper reading strategy. It needs someone senior to lead and own it, it needs planning, it needs teacher training, it requires discussion about what will and won’t work.”

Targeted interventions

Notwithstanding that, most teachers believe that targeted interventions are helping struggling readers and that assessment plays a crucial role:

• 7 in 10 teachers (69%, compared to 55% in the UK) think their school’s reading interventions are improving student outcomes – only 7% disagree
• The same proportion (69%, compared to 56% in the UK) say their school has introduced additional reading time to help students with their comprehension skills
• 8 in 10 (77%) say their school is using reading assessment data to help identify barriers to learning
• Well over half of respondents (57%) say their school has introduced reading aloud sessions, though almost a third (31%) say they haven’t.

Lisa says that certain interventions can be extraordinarily effective if the students are correctly identified, their abilities accurately assessed, and the teachers are properly trained. “After a single term, one of the initiatives Nene Park Academy used – the Faster Reading project – resulted in some of the weaker readers in a Year 8 cohort improving their reading scores by 17%.”

A question of gender?

Most respondents agree with earlier research suggesting that reading reluctance is greater among boys than girls – though our findings suggest that teachers think a significant number of girls are reluctant readers too:

• A fifth of teachers (20%) say boys see being asked to read as something that’s fun – almost a half (33%) disagree. Whereas a third (32%) say girls see reading as fun, and a quarter (24%) say they don’t
• A fifth (19%, compared to 33% in the UK) agree that boys see being asked to read as punishment – but half (49%) disagree. Whereas very few (8%) agree that girls see being asked to read as a punishment – almost two-thirds (63%) disagree
• Half (51%) say boys will choose an easy book over a harder one – 16% disagree. Just over a quarter (28%) say girls will do the same – with a third (34%) disagreeing
• A third of teachers (35%) say boys do make the connection between reading ability and school performance – but a significant minority (29%) think they don’t. The numbers are reversed in the UK, and by some margin – 45% say boys don’t make the link and only 16% think they do
• Whereas 46% of teachers (43% in the UK) think that girls do make the link between reading ability and school performance and only a fifth (21%) think they don’t (18% in the UK).

Independent consultant Vicky Merrick says her colleagues were initially perplexed by the persistent challenging behaviour of a group of Year 9 boys at her school and the failure of the usual sanctions to make an impact. Then they looked at the NGRT data: “What emerged, for a group of just under 30 of our Year 9 boys, was a high correlation between a rapid increase in recent negative behaviour incidents and what seemed, on first look, to be a recent dip in mean Standardised Age Scores… Students who had previously achieved mean SAS that were average, now were not.”

Reading at home

When it comes to reading outside of school, most teachers are sceptical that much is taking place daily. Social media they believe is to blame, but they also think that parents have a role to play:

• 6 in 10 teachers (62%) think that most children are reading less than 15 minutes daily outside of school. Teachers in the UK think students are spending even less time reading – 46% believe it’s less than 15 minutes daily and 40% believe zero time is spent reading at home
• Teachers think social media is to blame – 9 in 10 (89%) believe social media distracts children from reading or getting into books and 8 in 10 (84%) think social media has had a negative effect on students’ willingness to read for pleasure
• An overwhelming majority of teachers (86%) think parents don’t understand the link between oracy and reading
• But 9 in 10 (96%) think that parents who model good reading behaviour increase the likelihood of their children reading for pleasure.

Lisa also believes parents have a role to play in a successful reading strategy. In her Faster Reading project, students were encouraged to repeat read at home with their parents. They made more progress with the second book, The Prince of Mist, “because it was unknown and difficult” and as it was one of a series, they could then dive into the next.

Conclusions

The vast majority of teachers in international schools think reading reluctance has been growing among students aged 12-14 and that progress tends to stall among average to below average readers. They also strongly agree that if these students – who comprise 49% of all students – aren’t reading at the expected level for their year group, they won’t be able to fully access the curriculum or do well in high stakes exam work.

Most teachers also agree that the reading needs of EAL students are significantly different to those of their peers, that limited English proficiency will not be able to access the curriculum, that their reading abilities tend to stall and that although improving their reading is a strategic priority for their school, teachers need more training to help EAL students specifically as well as with the wider student population.

Teachers are less sure about who should be responsible for reading, however, with a majority believing that task primarily rests with the English department, even though most concede that subject leads also have a responsibility. But most do acknowledge that reading interventions are improving student outcomes and that reading assessments are playing a crucial role in identifying barriers to learning.

Most teachers also tend to agree that more boys than girls are reluctant readers, though the figures suggest there are sizeable numbers of girls who are book averse too. Teachers also believe that little reading takes place outside of school on a daily basis and that the rise of social media is largely to blame.