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The purpose of this study is to develop understanding of the relation be-tween instructional practices and students’ reading amount. As part of alarger mixed-methods study of reading practices across the curriculum inSwedish compulsory school, a selection of 14 classes from Grades 6 and 9were observed over a total of 59 lessons. The data generated were codedand analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The resultsreveal a great variation in teachers’ instructional practices which is shownto have both direct and more indirect consequences for students’ readingamount. By combining the results from quantitative and qualitative analy-ses in the light of Self-Determination Theory, the study shows that mostreading is done in classrooms where teachers manage to fulfill students’need for competence, relatedness, and autonomy while maintaining class-room structure and ensuring lesson time for reading. The findings are dis-cussed considering previous research on instructional practices in relationto students’ reading motivation and reading amount, adding to our under-standing of what makes students read in everyday classrooms. Limitationsof the study, directions for further research, and implications for practiceare also discussed.

Denna studie är ett resultat av det samarbete som inleddes i maj 2020 genom Nätverket för erfarenhetsutbyte kring arbetsintegrerad lärarutbildning. Syftet är att undersöka hur den verksamhetsförlagda utbildningen genomförs i arbetsintegrerade lärarutbildningar vid svenska lärosäten.

Det empiriska underlaget utgörs av en enkät som kombinerats med uppföljande intervjuer och skriftlig kommunikation. Studien utgår från att det finns en lång tradition av motsättningar när det gäller hur utrymmet mellan praktik och teori ska fördelas i lärarutbildningarna. Undersökningen visar att det finns ett brett utbud av lösningar kring VFU inom arbetsintegrerade lärarutbildningar när det gäller form och i viss mån även innehåll. Ett rimligt antagande är att dessa skiftande upplägg bottnar i anpassningar till lokala behov. När det gäller examination av VFU uppger samtliga lärosäten att de bygger sin bedömning på information från en kombination av underlag. Efterfrågan på validering av VFU är mestadels låg eller obefintlig bland de lärosäten som ingår i studien. Anledningen förefaller vara att studenterna upplever momentet som meriterande och att denna bild är spridd mellan studentgrupper. En slutsats från denna studie är att utveckling av förutsättningar för arbetsintegrerade lärarutbildningar bör ske med förståelse för den mångfald av lokala anpassningar som lärosäten navigerar mellan för att uppfylla det konkreta målet att kunna erbjuda denna utbildningsform bland sina utbildningsprogram.  

Lärarens undervisning och engagemang är grundläggande för i vilken omfattningelever på mellan- och högstadiet läser sakprosa och skönlitteratur. Om elevernaska kunna uppnå en grundnivå i läsförståelse, måste grundskolan leva upp till sittkompensatoriska uppdrag. Läsning av sammanhängande text måste bli ett naturligtoch återkommande inslag i alla ämnen.

As leisure-time reading among adolescents declines in the western world, stakeholders try to increase students’ motivation for school-related reading. We examine the relationship of students’ autonomous and controlled reading motivation with their amount and experiences of school-related reading in four school subjects, controlling for students’ attitudes toward the school subjects and general attitudes toward reading. Questionnaire data were collected from 3308 students in Grades 6 and 9 at 144 schools in Sweden. Multiple linear regression indicates that students’ attitudes toward the subject are more important predictors of reading amount than their reading motivation. Motivation type was primarily related to students’ affective experiences of the reading, and only weakly related to their amount of school-related reading. Results suggest that the relationship between motivation and school-related reading differ from voluntary leisure-time reading. The study thus complements previous research which primarily has focused on the role of students’ motivation for their amount of leisure-time reading.

During the past decade we have seen a clear trend of decreasing amounts of leisure-time as well as school-related reading among adolescents, in Sweden (Statens medieråd, 2021; Vinterek et al., 2020) and in other parts of the western world (Clark & Travainen-Goff, 2020; Twenge et al., 2018). From previous studies we also know that, whereas students’ leisure-time reading is mainly driven by their intrinsic or autonomous motivation (Cox & Guthrie, 2001; Troyer et al., 2018; Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997), their school-related reading amount is dependent on more external, instruction-related factors such as scheduled reading time and access to a wider selection of texts (Ivey & Broddus, 2001), factors which, in turn, have the potential to increase students’ more autonomous motivation as they develop a stronger reading self-concept (Tegmark et al., 2022).

However, what types of reading activities that actually take place in Swedish compulsory school and how they relate to different types of instructional practices are still largely unexplored areas of research. Hence, the main objective of the present study is to better understand the relation between teachers’ instructional practice and students’ reading activities. Is it possible to find patterns in teachers’ instructional practice that can help us understand why more reading is done in some classrooms compared to others? The goal is not to find the best instructional practice that makes students read the most, but to identify common denominators (instruction related factors) among those teachers who manage to make their students read more than one whole page of connected text per class. Similarly, we seek to find out what characterizes those instructional practices where students do not read at all. What do the students do to learn instead of reading, and what is it in the teacher’s instructional practice that seems to be missing in order for reading of connected text to take place?

The study is theoretically framed by Self-determination theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2020) and its differentiation between different types of autonomous (self-determined) and controlled motivation, which, in turn, are dependent on the degree to which the social environment (such as the classroom) manages to fulfill the basic psychological needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy. 

The study is conducted through a mixed-methods design including large-scale classroom observations in Grades 6 and 9 (59 lessons, 14 schools), which have been analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Our results suggest that even though the relationship between teachers’ instructional practice and students’ reading activities is complex and context dependent, it is possible to identify certain key features that cannot be ignored if the current trend of decreased school reading is to be turned around. The results are discussed in relation to recent developments in both policy and practice in the Nordic countries. 

Even though the importance of extensive reading practice is well documented, as are students’ changing leisure-time reading habits, knowledge of how much students read at school is still limited. Therefore, this study investigates how many pages of continuous text, nonfiction as well as fiction, students in middle (Grades 4–6) and lower secondary (Grades 7–9) school read during an ordinary school day. Comparing data from two large-scale surveys, in 2007 and 2017, our analyses indicate that the proportion of students who read one full page or more has decreased significantly. More students in middle school compared to lower secondary still read nonfiction, whereas the reading of fiction is now equally low. We conclude that the growing achievement gap among Swedish students on reading literacy tests is mirrored in the widening divide between students who still read extensively at school and those who do not read at all.

Background: Reading amount is decisive for individual students’ academic success as well as for the general strength of democratic societies. Still, the amount of both leisure-time and school-related reading is decreasing. To reverse this trend, more knowledge of what drives students’ school reading is needed. Methods: Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the study is based on structured interviews with 259 students in Grades 6 and 9 from 14 different schools. Descriptive statistical analyses were made to map students’ perceptions of themselves as readers and their school-related reading practices, and to find out what regulates students’ motivation for in-class reading. Results: Although students express a strong will to become good readers, our data indicate that students are mainly driven by controlled motivation for their school-related reading; autonomous motivation was only expressed by a minority of students in Grade 6. What would make students read more are mainly text and instruction related factors such as more interesting texts and more time allocated to reading. Conclusions: Our results point to a great potential for more in-class reading across the curriculum, reading sessions that need to be regularly scheduled using carefully selected texts. In line with SDT, our findings highlight the importance of fulfilling students’ need for competence, relatedness, and autonomy in order for them to develop more self-determined behavior, such as leisure-time reading – which in turn will boost their reading self-concept.

Trots vetskapen om läsningens betydelse och den sjunkande likvärdigheten i elevers läsförmåga, har kunskapen om elevers faktiska läsande sett till omfattning varit näst intill obefintlig. Det kan tyckas märkligt då det satsats mångmiljonbelopp på att återkommande mäta elevernas läsförmåga för att konstatera att den sviktar. Vi vet att barn och ungas bok- och tidningsläsande på fritiden minskat. Men hur ser det ut i den obligatoriska skolan? Läser elever längre texter i skolan, eller tas det för givet?

Children’s and adolescents’ reading of longer connected text is decreasing in in many parts of the western world, including Sweden, leisure reading as well as school-related reading (Vinterek et al., 2020). Growing inequity among students’ opportunities to develop L2 reading literacy also highlights the compensatory objective of Swedish compulsory school. Concurrently, the Swedish school system, like many other, has moved in a direction of increased accountability for students, teachers, and school leaders. The intensified focus on short-term assessment and easily measurable results, e.g., in the form of more and earlier national tests and student grades, has made it even more of a challenge for professional teachers to make room for extensive reading practices and to focus on more long-term goals such as building students’ self-identity as readers. 

The purpose of this study, which is part of a larger project on reading practices in Swedish compulsory school, is therefore to investigate how a group of English teachers (L2) cope with these challenges in four different classrooms, situated in different socioeconomic contexts. More specifically, I look at what type of reading practices that these teachers initiate for their respective group of students, and in what way these classroom practices manage to strengthen students’ self-identity as readers of English. Theoretically, the study is framed by Self-determination theory (SDT) and the related notion of reading self-concept, defined as one’s sense of competence and the role ascribed to reading as a part of one’s personal identity. The analyses of the L2 reading practices are primarily based on audio-recorded observations of two classrooms in Grade 6 and two in Grade 9, with some contextual data from complementary teacher and student interviews. Preliminary results indicate that teachers are caught a in dilemma where they must navigate between two conflicting goals: taking shortcuts to prepare students for the national test or creating positive reading experiences that can build students’ long-term self-identity as L2 readers. To initiate and sustain reading practices that manage to negotiate between these goals, teachers need professional agency and self-determination to create classroom environments characterized by both control and autonomy support.

The results are of relevance to research on literacy instruction and motivation in general, and on L2 reading in particular. 

Biesta, G. (2017). Education, Measurement and the Professions: Reclaiming a space for democratic professionality in education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 49(4), 315–330. 

Vinterek, M., Winberg, M., Tegmark, M., Alatalo, T., & Liberg, C. (2020). The decrease of school related reading in the Swedish compulsory school 2007–2017. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 66(1), 119-133.

Läsförmågan hos elever i den svenska grundskolan är långt under vad den var 20 år sedan, samtidigt som fritidsläsandet fortsätter att minska. Skolan har därför ett viktigt kompensatoriskt uppdrag då vi vet att det krävs rikligt med läsning för att bli en god läsare (Kuhn & Stahl, 2003). Elever behöver också läsa olika typer av texter för att utveckla ordförrådet inom olika ämnen (Biemiller, 2001). Dessutom måste elever kunna läsa längre texter för att utveckla kunskap genom läsning (Topping et al., 2007; Merisuo-Storm & Soininen, 2014). Forskning visar också att längden läsning i skolan och på fritiden korrelerar positivt med läsförmågan (Taylor et al., 1990).

Studien utgår från självbestämmandeteorin (SDT) vilken betonar att typen av motivation är viktigare än mängden motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Ju mer autonomt reglerad elevers motivation är, desto bättre är förutsättningarna för att de ska vilja läser mer. Forskning har visat på ett rekursivt samband mellan autonom motivation och synen på den egna läsförmågan (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000).

Syftet är att visa på relationen mellan hur mycket eleverna läser och deras motivation till läsning, attityd till läsning och synen på den egna läsförmågan. Följande frågor är i fokus:

*Hur många sidor sammanhängande text läser elever i årskurs 6 och 9 i svenska, engelska, historia och kemi under en dag i skolan?

*Vad är elevernas generella attityd till läsning?

*Vilken motivation uttrycker elever för läsning av skönlitteratur och sakprosa i skolan?

*Hur ser eleverna på sin egen läsförmåga och skolans såväl som sina egna läspraktiker?

Analyserna bygger på data från 3408 webbaserade elevenkäter från 144 grundskolor i 18 kommuner. Dessutom genomfördes 194 strukturerade elevintervjuer i sex klasser valda utifrån grad av motivation och mängden skolrelaterad läsning.

Resultatet visar att elever i årskurs 6 läser mer i skolan än elever i årskurs 9 och att elever i årskurs 6 visar en högre grad av inre motivation än elever i årskurs 9. Elever i årskurs 6 har också en mer positiv attityd till läsning av såväl skönlitterär som sakprosatext än elever i årskurs 9. Analyser pågår gällande relationen mellan hur mycket eleverna läser och deras motivation till läsning i de olika ämnena. Preliminära resultat pekar mot att det finns en potential i elevernas förhållande till läsning som skolan skulle kunna ta tillvara i än högre grad.

Studiens storskaliga ansats med både kvantitativa och kvalitativa data bidrar med ny kunskap om skolans läspraktiker o