The\u00a0benefits of reading for pupils’ overall attainment are well known, but does it matter what children are reading?<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0an analysis published today, some books are\u00a0more equal than others –\u00a0and\u00a0reading fiction yields far more benefits for pupils than other forms of reading material.<\/strong><\/p>\n Using data drawn from the OECD\u2019s Pisa study,\u00a0the Programme for International Student Assessment, researchers have\u00a0linked the frequency with which fifteen-year-olds read different types of reading material to their Pisa reading scores.<\/p>\n Candidates for the 2015 Pisa rankings were asked how often they read fiction books, non-fiction books, newspapers, magazines and comic books, in the research by\u00a0John Jerrim, professor of\u00a0education and social statistics\u00a0at\u00a0the UCL Institute of Education, and Gemma Moss, professor of literacy at UCL.<\/p>\n The researchers found that pupils who frequently read newspapers, magazines, comics and non-fiction books did not achieve significantly higher Pisa scores in reading than those who did not.<\/p>\n However, pupils who read fiction almost every day scored approximately 26 points more in their reading tests than those who never read such books \u2013 the equivalent of around 10 months\u2019 additional schooling, according to the OECD.<\/strong><\/p>\n The researchers thought this might be attributed to readers of fiction books spending more of their time reading as a whole \u2013 a pupil making their way through a classic work of literature will read more than one of their peers who rifles through a magazine.<\/p>\n However, they found no evidence to suggest this was the case, and found that the \u201cfiction effect\u201d was just as strong after controlling for the amount of time pupils spent reading.<\/p>\n They also controlled for other variables such as gender, socio-economic status or school type to rule out alternative explanations for the results.<\/p>\n Commenting on the finding in a blog post published today, Professor Jerrim said it had \u201cimportant implications”.<\/p>\n \u201cParents and teachers should not encourage teenagers to \u201cjust read something\u201d, no matter what this is”. \u201cRather, they should focus their efforts on encouraging young people to engage more with novels and other lengthy fictional texts that encourages deep reading for sustained periods of time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is likely to be particularly important for boys from lower socio-economic backgrounds \u2013 the group we find to be reading this type of text the least, and who also have comparatively poor reading skills.\u201d<\/p>\n If you want a list of brilliant fiction titles for your pupils to tie in with your subject (trust me I can make you a list on any topic you throw at me) then let me know! <\/strong><\/p>\n Donna Baird, Librarian<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The\u00a0benefits of reading for pupils’ overall attainment are well known, but does it matter what children are reading? According to\u00a0an analysis published today, some books are\u00a0more equal than others –\u00a0and\u00a0reading fiction yields<\/p>\n