Scotch College

Reading Survey Analysis

In recent years there has been much discussion in education circles concerning boys' literacy.

With the advent of the Curriculum and Standards Framework in Victoria, it was decided to establish a Reading Research Project in conjunction with the English Department.

The overall aim of the project was to conduct research into the reading habits, interests and practices of Scotch College students, to investigate what motivates students at Scotch College to read, what factors inhibit reading.

The project was headed up by Mr Warwick Barry from Scotch, in close consultation with Mrs Marion Meiers, an experienced literacy consultant. Several members of the English Department also contributed in the collation and analysing of data, including Mr L Humphries, Ms F Leong, Mr S A'Beckett and Ms J Rowland.

During Term 4, 1997, the staff of the English Department at Scotch administered a detailed questionnaire of some fifty questions, to every English class in Years 7 to 10. The raw data was then processed and put into tabular form for the purposes of analysis.

A series of interviews were conducted with a range of readers, from Years 7 to 10. As well as this, a number of consultations were held with other independent girls' and boys' schools, to compare to current approaches at Scotch. A detailed report of some two hundred pages was presented to the English Department and the teaching staff, at the end of Term 2.

A range of data was collected on students' purposes for reading, time spent on homework, time spent watching television, with computers, reading of newspapers, magazines and books etc.

What We Found

In terms of current reading, students at all levels were reading an extremely wide range of titles. The John Marsden series Tomorrow When the War Began were by far the most popular books read. Other favourite authors included, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Victor Kelleher, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Bryce Courtney, Tim Winton, Roald Dahl, Isobelle Carmody and J R Tolkien. There was broad consensus across the year levels that students most often chose books on the basis of cover blurbs and friends' recommendations.

66% of students re-read books across the year levels.

By Year 10 the number of students reading novels had decreased significantly. In terms of the number of novels read in a year, from year 10 to 7, the results were;

In the 6-10 Category 27% (Y10) - 40% (Y7)

In the 11-20 Category 14% (Y10) - 29% (Y7)

In the 21-50 Category 13% (Y10) - 20% (Y7)

In the 51-100 Category 1% (Y10) - 10% (Y7)

Students today are generally not watching as much television, compared to those in the 80s. Most fell into the categories of weekly viewing of 1 to 2 hours per day. 50% of students watch news and current affairs daily.

The comment of one student was most illuminating. He said, 'I don't think people enjoy reading as much because they find it too hard to visualise what's going on, so they watch TV instead.' While 90% of students own personal computers across the year levels, the most popular usage of them was for word processing, for about less than an hour per week.

Most students enjoy reading for pleasure regularly - about 66% on a weekly basis. The most popular genre is adventure/survival, with about 50% of students enjoying science fiction/fantasy, humorous fiction popular in the weekly and monthly categories (40-50).

Where to now

The analysis of the survey and subsequent interviews, reveals much of a positive nature concerning reading amongst the students at Scotch.

The extent and range of reading, as reported, needs to be acknowledged as a strength within the school community.

An extensive series of over forty recommendations was made to various groups in the school, including the library, the English Department, the teaching staff and the school administration.

In the short time since the completion of the report, the English Department, in close liaison with the library, has been very active in implementing a wide range of innovations to promote reading. Some of these changes include extensive promotion to both staff and students of current and new adolescent literature through both visual display and browse sessions, and selection of a range of exciting new English class texts at years 7 to 10. We have established an interschool book club and conducted book chat groups on the internet (Y7), and piloted a student selected graduated reading scheme (Y8).

A lot has been achieved in a short time, and there is still a great deal to be done, with much to look forward to; knowing that reading is still very important to the current and future generations of Scotch Collegians.

The full report of the project team is readily available from the English Department. Please telephone Mr Alan Watkinson, on 9810 4207, if you would like a copy.

Mr Warwick Barry