Our research - LitPlus

Investigating Affective Engagements with Reading and Writing in Schools and Early Learning Services

Summary

The research is embedded within a newly established partnership between AUT School of Education, schools, and early learning services in the Auckland area. The intervention consists of developing case studies of approximately 3 children or young people each across 11 sites (33 children total) during the first half of 2024. Each case study will pursue 2 core research questions common across the schools and ELS.  To provide site specific information, one to two additional practice-related questions will be developed in partnership with each site.

Researchers: Ruth Boyask, John Milne, Ross Bernay, Lisa Maurice-Takerei, Parisa Tadi, Rebecca Hopkins, Jayne Jackson, Necia Stanford Billinghurst

Core questions

1. How do children or young people engage in reading in and outside of educational settings?
2. What affects and is affected by these engagements?

Summary

Reading for pleasure may be important for children as part of a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle. This study explores the effects of reading for pleasure for children in Aotearoa New Zealand from birth to age 10 to 11 on their wellbeing.

This is a mixed method study that analyses secondary data from the Growing Up in New Zealand study databases on children’s reading and wellbeing and evaluates the significance of the findings qualitatively through discussion with young people. Children’s reading affect prior to the pandemic and wellbeing during the pandemic are examined. Furthermore, we consider whether reading affect at age 8 may have influenced children’s wellbeing during the pandemic.

Researchers: Ruth Boyask, John Milne, Jayne Jackson
Funders: Children and Families Research Fund, Ministry of Social Development

Summary

An examination of children’s affect and achievement in English language curriculum in relation to sociality or engagement with others in contexts of learning. It uses data from the National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement (NMSSA) that measures achievement in six different English language modes, supplemented with contextual school data.

Researchers: Ruth Boyask, Parisa Tadi

A group of community leaders has created the Shadi Club to promote Persian culture and the Farsi/Dari language among young children in New Zealand. The programme aims to support migrant and refugee communities by introducing young children to their heritage.

Born after the Covid-19 lockdown, the Shadi Club serves over 50 families, emphasising the importance of heritage language and culture in early childhood education. Using the Te Whāriki as the framework, the programme integrates community knowledge and desires, offering monthly cultural focuses. For example, June's theme was Persian greetings, which also incorporated New Zealand Sign Language and te reo Māori.

The programme promotes bilingualism and biliteracy, supporting children's literacy in multiple languages. Parents are encouraged to ask questions about New Zealand's early childhood education system, fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness within the Farsi/Dari-speaking community.

The Shadi Club also helps families navigate local resources, such as libraries, and offers a model that could be replicated for other languages and cultures. The ultimate goal is to create a rich multilingual environment to support children's literacy development and community connections.

Shadi Club supports language and culture

This research builds on earlier work that identified a number of different reading styles used by young people. It looks at the relative prevalence of each of those styles, identifies whether there are any additional styles as yet unobserved, and looks for patterns in the relationship between reading style and participants’ enjoyment and frequency of volitional reading.

The original study utilised a case study approach using a small number of participants. The two stages in this research aim to broaden our knowledge by involving a greater number of participants using questionnaires. There are two stages to this research; the first with adults and the second with young people aged 11-13.

The aims of this study are firstly, to identify any reading styles that have not previously been identified, secondly to investigate the relative frequency of the different reading styles and their relationship with other reading-related variables, and thirdly, to consider whether there are similarities or differences between younger readers and adult readers.

Researcher: Dr John Milne

Summary

This research project is a collaboration between LitPlus at Auckland University of Technology and Storylines Trust. LitPlus focuses on literacy education, particularly children and young people’s reading for pleasure (RfP). LitPlus researchers joined a Storylines Tour from 4-8 November 2024, visiting schools in Rotorua and Taupō. Storylines Trust has conducted Author and Illustrator Tours for 23 years, aiming to nurture a love of reading, support local writers and illustrators, and promote literacy development and cultural identity. The research aims to evaluate the impact of these author tours on school reading culture and children’s reading for pleasure.  The research will explore the effects on school reading cultures of visits by authors who write in both English and Māori, tell stories of bi-cultural families, and represent experiences familiar to local children and tamariki.

Researchers: Dr Ross Bernay, Spencer Emery, Opal Jensen, John Milne, Ruth Boyask

Summary

New Zealand welcomes over 1,500 refugees annually, including approximately 1,000 children, offering them a chance to rebuild their lives. However, transitioning to a new country presents significant challenges for these families, particularly children who may carry the weight of past trauma, uncertainty about their present circumstances, and anxiety about the future.

This study seeks to explore how shared reading, including multiliteracies (use of multiple languages), can support refugee children and their whānau (family) during their early settlement in New Zealand. This study will investigate whether shared reading activities within the Mangere Refugee Centre contribute to families’ sense of safety, connection, and overall wellbeing during the initial settlement phase.

Researchers: Parisa Tadi, Ruth Boyask

The study reveals that reading for pleasure is prevalent among confident, active New Zealand children who participate in organized arts and sports activities, indicating that it is part of a well-balanced, active life. However, it also finds that children from low-income households or areas of high deprivation are less likely to read frequently. Despite many children enjoying reading, socioeconomic challenges significantly impact their reading habits. The research underscores the need to enhance the visibility of reading enjoyment in education and support access to reading materials in deprived areas. It calls for further investigation into the factors influencing children's reading behaviors and how to mitigate the negative effects of socioeconomic disadvantages.

Read more

This literature review, part of a broader research effort, examines the concept of reading for pleasure, highlighting its social and educational benefits. The review draws on international and national research, focusing on the reading cultures of children and tamariki outside formal education. Findings suggest that reading for pleasure contributes significantly to social inclusion and public benefit, emphasizing the need for community support in fostering a reading culture. The review is informed by focus group discussions, underlining the collective importance of reading for pleasure in New Zealand.

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In 2018, Huntly College's new senior leadership team initiated changes to foster a culture of reading and inspire secondary students to read for pleasure and well-being. A collaborative programme with the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, launched in March 2020, included professional development for teachers, and community reading activities. Research indicated the initiative positively shifted the school's reading culture, increasing student engagement with reading texts and library use. However, sustaining this momentum can be challenging. School student researchers on the research team revealed a gap between student and teacher perceptions of reading's importance. The findings underscore the need for ongoing support and alignment with students' interests to further develop a reading culture.

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As part of the National Library of New Zealand’s Communities of Readers initiative, a group of schools in West Auckland engaged with the library to investigate ways to encourage reading for pleasure within their schools and community. Some key findings were that leadership was important, in several ways. School leaders had to be explicit about the value they placed on reading for pleasure to ‘allow’ teachers to dedicate time to reading for pleasure within their busy weeks. Teachers and school leaders also needed to provide leadership and modelling through being visible as readers to the children and community they work with, both in class time and in breaks. As part of the initiative, teachers took part in several book-related activities and events that reminded many that they used to enjoy reading, and of the pleasure to be found in children and young people’s literature leading to a re-found enthusiasm for reading for pleasure. The project also resulted in an increased awareness that teachers needed to be more considerate of children’s interests and that their definition of what was considered ‘reading’ needed to be broadened to include a variety of forms (e.g. graphic novels, audiobooks) that have not traditionally been valued.

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