IN DEPTH
Love of reading in young people continues to fall
The National Literacy Trust has released its Annual Literacy Survey for children and young people and it shows a continued drop in young people reading for pleasure. Rob Green looks at the implications of the report and asks what can be done to reverse the decline.
RESEARCH has shown that reading for pleasure in young people has a hugely positive impact on improving social and educational outcomes. However the latest research from the National Literacy Trust shows that fewer children and young peo- ple are choosing to pick up a book and read for pleasure.
The survey is based on responses from more than 76,000 young people aged between five and 18, and found that just one in three children and young people said that they enjoyed reading in their free time. And just 20 per cent, or one in five, say they read something for pleasure on a daily basis.
The report’s authors highlight particular con- cerns for boys of secondary school age, although they point out that levels and frequency are at historic lows across the board. Worryingly the gender reading gap increased dramatically over the last 12 months – in 2023 just the difference between boys and girls who enjoyed reading was 4.8 per cent, while for 2024 that had almost tri- pled to 12.3 per cent. It means that while 40.5 per cent of girls said they read for pleasure, just 28.2 per cent of boys do.
Children in receipt of free school meals, one of the criteria for measuring socio-economic back- ground, were also less likely to read for pleasure compared to their peers.
And while the report notes the overall decline in readers, it also points to potential actions to help reverse the decline. The survey found that there were some key areas around motivation, which could help to inform future strategies. It says: “Children and young people read to sup-
18 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL
Rob Green (
rob.green@
cilip.org.uk) is Editor of Information Professional
port their mental wellbeing and their curiosity, but many also read for social action. We grouped children and young people’s motivations to read into three categories: curious reader, mindful reader and social reader.”
Readers in these three categories had different motivations, and often wanted different out- comes from their reading habits.
Curious readers – The curious readers included one in two children and young people who read to learn new words (51.8 per cent) or new things (50.9 per cent). One in three of this group also said that reading helped them understand the views of others (32.8 per cent) and helped them learn about other cultures (32.4 per cent).
Mindful readers – The mindful readers included those who read because it helped them relax (56.6 per cent) or those where reading made them feel happy (41.0 per cent). Around one-in-
December 2024
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