Reading for pleasure matters: Priorities and pedagogies in the post-pandemic landscape

Reading for pleasure has long been recognised as an important indicator of pupil academic success with implications for teacher educators in designing Initial Teacher Education course content. This study, situated within a relativist ontology and interpretivist epistemology, explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on reading in primary schools, and considered the potential impact on pupils’ future academic achievement, wellbeing and life chances, given that the teaching and learning of reading have been significantly affected by the pandemic, the associated disruption to school opening in the UK and the subsequent changes to priorities and pedagogies in the post-pandemic landscape.
A mixed-methods approach, falling within the realms of ethnography and phenomenology, was used to collect data from primary teachers and school leaders in several north London boroughs. using online questionnaires and interviews. Content analysis of data from questionnaire responses and interviews suggests that, despite some respondents indicating limited impact on some aspects of reading at some stages of the pandemic, those who did report changes generally felt that the time spent on all aspects of reading decreased during periods of lockdown and increased during periods of reopening, for most pupils. Post-pandemic, teachers and leaders were most concerned about access to texts and attainment, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, with widening gaps in reading fluency and comprehension competing with gaps in other areas of the curriculum for priority in the school timetable. An increased focus on the teaching of the skills of reading in participants’ schools, through rigorous teaching of phonics and comprehension strategies, has led, in some cases, to a somewhat decreased focus on activities associated with reading for pleasure, such as the class story, library visits and time for independent reading and talking about books. This session will suggest strategies for teacher educators working with teachers on the issue of reading for pleasure and its impacts on pupils’ future academic success, wellbeing and life chances.