Seminar programme 2021-22

Seminar 1: Understanding diverse families’ shared reading practices

15:00–17:00 (GMT) Tuesday 23 November 2021

Dr Rachel Levy, Associate Professor in Education at University College London, Institute of Education

We know that shared reading activity in the home supports young children’s language development, however it is also recognised that not all families read with their children and that interventions to promote shared reading are often unsuccessful. In this presentation I argue that what is missing from many reading interventions is an understanding of what families already do and how shared reading activity fits within the construct of everyday family life. This has emphasised a need to explore what currently happens in homes and understand what motivates or prevents parents from reading with their children. Drawing on a recent ESRC-funded study into shared reading practices with 29 families in two English cities, this presentation demonstrates how for many families, shared reading is already a part of ‘doing family’. However for some families, and perhaps particularly those from low socio-economic groups, there is a need for certain conditions to be met if shared reading practices are to be maintained or, in some cases, occur at all. I argue that in order to support more families in reading regularly with their children, there is a need to firstly understand how different families use shared reading activity within their own individual and everyday family lives.

Seminar 2: Not all stereotypes are true! Dispelling myths about boys and girls as readers

13:00–14:00 (GMT) Tuesday 22 March 2022

Associate Professor Laura Scholes, in Education & Literacy at the Institute for Learning Sciences & Teacher Education, Australian Catholic University

There are ingrained beliefs about boys and girls as readers that permeate approaches to students’ experiences in literacy classrooms and present social justice issues. In this presentation I illustrate why educators at all levels need to consider nuances in boys’ and girls’ attitudes, beliefs, and interests rather than homogenising students according to gender. Drawing on my Australian Research Council study I dispel taken for granted assumptions about boys and girls as readers. The data reveals how disadvantage and lack of desired reading resources is problematic for both boys and girls and has a profound influence on their reading practices and achievement. I then highlight how issues of disadvantage and access to resources have become more pronounced for some children over the past two years with growing inequity. Finally, I show that in order to support more children in reading there is a need to untangle gender from approaches, understand individuals as readers, and then provide support, resources, and access to high quality resources.

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