Reading for ‘pleasure’? An insight into pupils’ perspectives on reading

Abstract

Though ‘Reading for Pleasure’ (RfP) is an extensively researched and promoted topic within education due to its wealth of established benefits, it is, nonetheless, declining in popularity. The advantages which accompany RfP remain undisputable, but research vastly centers around theneurotypical learner: a crucial problem. This research proposal argues that those who are perhaps in most need of the associated benefits which RfP brings – namely, the non-neurotypical – are being largely overlooked within research and, consequently, deprived from accessing the pleasure and enjoyment of reading along with its countless benefits. By first addressing and exploring the perceived barriers which inhibit pleasure within reading from children themselves, it is suggested that this may be the way forward for once more eliciting the bountiful benefits fostered within RfP, but in a more inclusive and fruitful manner.