40
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Barriers to reading: more books needed, more time, accessibility to age
appropriate books, quiet area to read, parents reading child.
Individual Interview with teaching staff members/Group Interview with teaching
staff/Individual interview with parents:
The following themes emerged from analysis of interviews:
•
Training in reading promotion
•
Whole school approach to reading
promotion
•
Parental involvement
•
Attitude to reading promotion
•
Reading culture in school
•
Enjoyment of reading
Training in Reading Promotion:
Throughout the course of the interviews both teachers and parents expressed their
desire for further training in how to promote reading for pleasure for their children and
that they have learned a lot from the experience of implementing lifelong readers in
their school. Teacher: “
learning not to take it for granted that children are reading, are
readers and just because you’re teaching them how to read doesn’t mean that they are
readers so that’s a whole other area that has to be taken into account.”
Whole School Approach to Reading Promotion:
Parental Involvement
Parental involvement was a concern of teachers prior to implementing lifelong readers,
as they had negative experiences in the past. However in the implementation of lifelong
readers the contribution of parents was seen as very positive. A teacher remarking on
the participation of the Bedtime Stories activity remarked
“it (the room) was packed to
the gills with parents”.
A parent remarked on the programme
“the LiRe programme can
create social skills and have a great impact on a child’s development. Reading to a child
is very rewarding as the child loves to hear stories and will hang on your every word”.
