Recently several researchers from Australia Reads released their Understanding Australian Readers report. This report aimed to identify what influences when and how people read, to map out thier reading journey and to uncover drivers and barriers for these reading behaviours across different demographics. While it focused on people aged 16 and over rather than children or teenagers, this was invaluable research which provided some key insights that can apply to my own work in a high school setting.
The researchers also launched the report with an accompanying webinar:
I really liked how the report broke down the different behaviours that make up a reading journey, and how these behaviours aren’t necessarily linear. The report also notes that different groups will exhibit different behaviours in each of these steps of the reading journey and face different barriers; therefore, there’s no one size fits all approach to increasingly Australia’s lagging recreational reading rates.
The report also explores the different types of readers, presenting these identities on a spectrum that includes both readers and non-readers. It was interesting to see that reader identity isn’t fixed and that people move between these different stages at different points in their lives. For instance, I would have once identified as an Avid Reader (I was the kind of kid who used to take books with me everywhere!) but now, due to time constraints and work overload, I’d probably fit the Lapsed or Aspirational Reader categories.
Interestingly, the report also notes that readers on each extreme of this spectrum are less likely to change their reading behaviours and are therefore less effective targets for behavioural interventions. This is a key insight for me as a teacher-librarian, as it helps me understand where my energy is best directed in my lessons. The report concludes that Aspirational Readers are the most impactful group to target, followed by Engaged, Ambivalent, and Lapsed readers.
The report has a number of other crucial implications for my work as a teacher-librarian. Firstly, the fact that Uninterested Non-Readers don’t remember a single positive reading experience emphasises the importance of having qualified, well-supported teacher-librarians in schools who can support these formative reading identities in a positive way. Secondly, the report highlights the need to validate everyone’s reading experiences and identities, and the need to avoid judgements around different reading behaviours.
The webinar also gave three quick takeaways to help us moving forward:
- Focus on the behaviour we want to see, not the behaviour we don’t want – sell the benefits of the product rather than the product itself.
- Social norms are powerful but we need to make sure that our messages are coming from sources of authority that our audience finds relevent, valuable, and trustworthy.
- Reduce choice overload to make it easier to connect people with relevent reading materials.
Based on the interventions recommended in the report, I’ve created a table of possible strategies to incorporate into my Wide Reading Program linked to the various stages of the reading journey. This year I’ve chosen 3-4 students from each class to focus on helping them achieve their self-nominated reading goal. These interventions will hopefully provide me something tangible to action in our lessons, and will help me shape my ongoing reworking on my Wide Reading Program scope and sequence.
| Intervention Type | Finding Books | Choosing Books | Starting to Read | Continuing to Read |
| Education: Provide information to increase knowledge of understanding about a behaviour or issue | Encourage engagement with social media or other book related content Target browsing shelves as a worthwhile activity | Highlight value of graphic novels, short stories, novellas, middle grade and picture books | Have influencers or relatable individuals promote the benefits of reading in short, engaging video clips or interviews Emphasise that reading can be a social activity, not just isolating Emphasise reading is a restorative activity, not another chore | Highlight that reading habits evolve over time Model reading habits Reframe what it means to be a ‘good’ reader Emphasise that reading confidence emerges from personal engagement and enjoyment, not proficiency |
| Training: Develop skills required for people to perform a behaviour effectively | Provide training on how to find books | Create tutorial videos or provide live demonstrations showing how to select books Provide explicit training on how to select books | Use apps to block device notifications | Create tutorial videos or provide live demonstrations showing how to incorporate reading into your daily routine |
| Persuasion: Use communication to induce positive feelings and change peoples’ attitudes or beliefs | Connect reading to other activities and content they enjoy Reframe away from the act of reading to engagement with other enjoyable content e.g. becoming a better footy player | Remind students about the enjoyment and benefits of reading Reinforce message that there’s a book for every mood, and that any mood is a reading mood | Reinforce it’s ok to put down a book that isn’t meeting expectations Reframe that it’s ok to skip parts or not finish books | |
| Incentivisation: Offer rewards or benefits to motivate people to engage in a desired behaviour | Encourage people to log and track their reading habits via apps, providing occasional rewards for continued progress | |||
| Modelling: Demonstrate or provide examples of desired behaviours for others to observe and imitate | Show role models or peers who can demonstrate that spending a little time finding books can lead to greater reading enjoyment | Connect readers with trusted reviews Use peer-driven content and reviews | Share stories of relatable readers who have made time for reading Show people they admire who enjoy reading | |
| Enablement: Remove barriers and provide support to help people adopt new behaviours | Promote audiobooks, quick reads, visual texts Encourage people to use platforms like Goodreads to see what’s popular, get personalised recommendations Encourage expansion of preferences to include digital and audio to increase accessibility | Use curated book lists to reduce effort in choosing books Provide personalised recommendations Encourage use of platforms that give one-click recommendations based on past reading preferences | Encourage placing phones on silent, in other rooms Pair individuals with reading buddies | Set reading goals If-then implementation intentions Create personalised reading schedules |
| Environmental restructuring: Change the physical or social environment to make desired behaviours more likely | Keeping books in visible spots Connect readers with relevant books Use AI reader advisory Genrefy the collection | Read sample chapters or summaries | Setting phone reminders to and timers to read Encourage readers to keep a book in their bag to read on public transport, in doctor’s surgeries etc. Encourage book clubs and reading groups to enhance social accountability |
