Page 91 - Štremfel, Urška, ed., 2016. Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Approaches, Challenges. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Digital Library, Documenta 11.
P. 91
t piece of information is that students who read for enjoyment, and who 91
find reading to be an important part of their free time, may, in terms of reading
literacy, get ahead of their peers who dislike reading, or do it only when they
have to, by two school years or more (Puklek Levpušček et al., 2012b).
Students’ diversity of reading material is also a significant factor in predict-
ing their reading engagement and consequently their reading outcomes. Re-
sults of secondary analyses indicate Slovenian students who read a greater va-
riety of reading material, and thus come across different styles of writing, score
on average 26 points more in the reading literacy test than students who read
materials that are less diverse. The highest reading scores are achieved by stu-
dents who read fiction and non-fiction books. This means reading of longer
and more complex texts is related to a greater reading competency. The fact
that gives reason for concern in relation to this is that the percentage of Slove-
nian students who often read fiction is considerably lower than the average in
OECD countries (ibid).
At the OECD average level, there are less than 10% of students who read
a variety of different reading materials (fiction and comic books in addition to
those previously mentioned), whilst in Slovenia it is approximately 3%. In com-
parison with the average in OECD countries, Slovenian students read less fic-
tion and other reading materials, with the exception of comic books, although
it is students with the highest levels of reading scores that are in this group.
The reading scores of the highest-performing students in Slovenia differ from
the reading scores of students who read less or do not opt for diversity in their
reading materials, the difference being 94 points (546 against 450), which
puts the former higher on the reading literacy scale by more than one level.
With respect to the reading material, the differences are biggest between stu-
dents who often read fiction and students who do it occasionally or never (538
against 476 points) (ibid: 51).
Among their peers at the OECD country level, Slovenian students thus
stand out in terms of how frequently they read magazines and newspapers,
but read less fiction.
In relation to reading engagement, differences are also noticeable in terms
of gender. In Slovenia (similarly to the average in OECD countries), the share of
students who read for enjoyment is greater in female students (75%) than male
students (46%). Also, girls enjoy reading to a much larger extent than boys (the
difference is 25 percentage points; at the OECD average level 21 percentage
points). There are also differences between boys and girls in terms of the read-
ing material. Boys read newspapers and comic books regularly to a greater ex-
tent than girls, whereas girls spend more time reading fiction and magazines
(Puklek Levpušček et al., 2012b).
Differences in reading engagement are also noticeable among education-
al programmes in Slovenia. Results indicate engaged and deep readers are
reading literacy and motivation in the context of social changes
find reading to be an important part of their free time, may, in terms of reading
literacy, get ahead of their peers who dislike reading, or do it only when they
have to, by two school years or more (Puklek Levpušček et al., 2012b).
Students’ diversity of reading material is also a significant factor in predict-
ing their reading engagement and consequently their reading outcomes. Re-
sults of secondary analyses indicate Slovenian students who read a greater va-
riety of reading material, and thus come across different styles of writing, score
on average 26 points more in the reading literacy test than students who read
materials that are less diverse. The highest reading scores are achieved by stu-
dents who read fiction and non-fiction books. This means reading of longer
and more complex texts is related to a greater reading competency. The fact
that gives reason for concern in relation to this is that the percentage of Slove-
nian students who often read fiction is considerably lower than the average in
OECD countries (ibid).
At the OECD average level, there are less than 10% of students who read
a variety of different reading materials (fiction and comic books in addition to
those previously mentioned), whilst in Slovenia it is approximately 3%. In com-
parison with the average in OECD countries, Slovenian students read less fic-
tion and other reading materials, with the exception of comic books, although
it is students with the highest levels of reading scores that are in this group.
The reading scores of the highest-performing students in Slovenia differ from
the reading scores of students who read less or do not opt for diversity in their
reading materials, the difference being 94 points (546 against 450), which
puts the former higher on the reading literacy scale by more than one level.
With respect to the reading material, the differences are biggest between stu-
dents who often read fiction and students who do it occasionally or never (538
against 476 points) (ibid: 51).
Among their peers at the OECD country level, Slovenian students thus
stand out in terms of how frequently they read magazines and newspapers,
but read less fiction.
In relation to reading engagement, differences are also noticeable in terms
of gender. In Slovenia (similarly to the average in OECD countries), the share of
students who read for enjoyment is greater in female students (75%) than male
students (46%). Also, girls enjoy reading to a much larger extent than boys (the
difference is 25 percentage points; at the OECD average level 21 percentage
points). There are also differences between boys and girls in terms of the read-
ing material. Boys read newspapers and comic books regularly to a greater ex-
tent than girls, whereas girls spend more time reading fiction and magazines
(Puklek Levpušček et al., 2012b).
Differences in reading engagement are also noticeable among education-
al programmes in Slovenia. Results indicate engaged and deep readers are
reading literacy and motivation in the context of social changes
