The Oklahoma Reader 58-1 Spring 2022

from The Oklahoma Reader 58-1 Spring 2022

The Oklahoma Reader 58-1 Spring 2022

Dana Oliver

The Becoming of Teachers as Passionate Readers: What Makes the Difference?

Introduction & Pertinent Background

Teachers should be readers who engage in personal reading, are highly involved in their students’ literary experiences, and are able to recommend high quality children’s books to students (International Literacy Association, 2018a). The development of teachers who serve as literacy partners to K-12 students begins in the teacher preparation program (International Literacy Association, 2018b). Yet research demonstrates preservice teachers often do not enter their programs with regular habits of reading and may express open avoidance or little enthusiasm for leisure reading (Applegate et al., 2014). Researchers have also identified instances wherein preservice teachers report positive attitudes towards reading and yet do not engage in the actual activity of leisure reading (Davis-Duerr, 2010; Kennedy, 2014; Lancellot, 2017; Rimensberger, 2014; Skaar et al., 2018; Walker- Dalhouse et al., 2011).

Preservice teachers who do not engage in personal reading may try to present a positive attitude toward leisure reading, but their ultimate ability to model a love of reading, recommend books to children, and select appropriate reading strategies in their future classroom may be limited (Benevides & Peterson, 2010). “The danger lies in learners seeing behind the surface attitudes” (Rimensberger, 2014, p. 6). Teachers’ preconceived notions of reading in their personal lives, as either being enjoyable and meaningful or unimportant, are easily identifiable by students and impact the behaviors and perceptions of their students (Applegate et al., 2014). Data indicates students who engage in and enjoy leisure reading also experience higher levels of reading achievement (Benevides & Peterson, 2010; Burgess & Jones, 2010; Mullis et al., 2012; Whitten, Labby, & Sullivan, 2016). It is, therefore, crucial for teacher educators to work to create in preservice teachers a genuine passion and habit with leisure reading which can be perceived by and passed on to their future students (Applegate et al., 2014). To make meaning of leisure reading dispositions and the forces which may facilitate those dispositions, Lancellot (2017) stated additional research is needed “to further examine the ways in which teachers have an influence on their students’ attitudes, beliefs, and values of reading” and to “ensure teacher candidates are intrinsically motivated to read” (p. 176). In response to this call, I offer the following synopsis of my dissertation study (Oliver, 2020).

Problem, Purpose, and Research Questions

The problem addressed in this study is a lack of consistency in preservice teachers’ attitudes, values, and beliefs about leisure reading and their current engagement in leisure reading (Davis-Duerr, 2010; Kennedy, 2014; Lancellot, 2017; Rimensberger, 2014; Skaar et al.,

2018; Walker- Dalhouse et al., 2011). To fully investigate and encapsulate all aspects related to understanding the phenomenon of leisure reading, this study utilized the term disposition to better understand not only the actions of preservice teachers but also the underlying attitudes, values, and beliefs which guide the behaviors. The researcher gleaned a definition from across the literature to recognize leisure reading dispositions as a conceptual process wherein repetitive forces aid in developing attitudes, values, and beliefs which influence the likelihood of recurring participation in reading for pleasure among preservice teachers.

The purpose of this study was to describe factors facilitating the leisure reading dispositions in elementary preservice teachers in a rural southern university in the United States. Research has affirmed coursework in educator preparatory programs has the capability of positively impacting dispositions (Applegate & Applegate, 2004; Applegate et al., 2014; Kennedy, 2014; Kindle & Schmidt, 2011; Pet, 2012). Since dispositions are impressionable, a better understanding of preservice teachers’ lived experiences related to the development of leisure reading dispositions was necessary.

The following questions guided the researcher in eliciting descriptions of lived experiences preservice teachers report contributed to the process of developing attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors regarding leisure reading. In addition to eliciting descriptions of participants’ experiences, the research questions sought to discover how the preservice teachers experienced the forces facilitating described dispositions.

Overarching Research Question: What forces facilitate leisure reading dispositions in preservice teachers in an elementary teaching program?

Secondary Research Questions: Who or what influences the forces facilitating leisure reading dispositions? How are the forces facilitating leisure reading dispositions experienced? What are the perceptions of leisure reading that emerge from the preservice teachers’ lived experiences?

Theoretical Framework

Affect theory (Deleuze, 1968; Massumi, 1995; Tomkins, 1962) was chosen for use in the study as it allows for consideration of a wide breadth of possible forces which may facilitate leisure reading disposition. Affect is understood by Tomkins (1962), Deleuze (1968), and Massumi (1995) to be a distinct precursory, unconscious experience separate from and yet resulting in an emotional experience or expression. The combined research on affect, although each slightly unique, allows for the conceptualization of a cyclic process essential to understanding the effects of various forces on the becoming of individuals. Unique to this study was looking at how the affects engaging in various exchanges, internal or external, social or otherwise, add to the becoming, or development, of preservice teachers’ leisure reading dispositions.

Synthesis of the Literature

Understanding leisure reading dispositions necessitates reviewing the existing literature to determine what forces may already be identified as contributing to the dispositional development of all students, including preservice teachers. When dispositions are analyzed within the context of literacy, and specifically leisure reading, the literature reviewed exposed numerous forces impacting the development of leisure reading dispositions. These forces were themed into two overarching categories: barriers to positive leisure reading dispositions and springboards for positive leisure reading dispositions. The analysis of literature conveying barriers to positive literacy dispositions largely reveals that potential readers relate struggles with time management (Burgess & Jones, 2010; Granado & Puig, 2015; Kennedy, 2014; Lancellot, 2017; Skaar et al., 2018), negative school experiences (Applegate et al., 2014; Granado & Puig, 2015; Kennedy, 2014; Lancellot, 2017; Skaar et al., 2018), and wide access to alternative forms of immediate entertainment (Burgess & Jones, 2010; Huang et al., 2014; Skaar et al., 2018).

The study of literature conveying either a positive regard for pleasure reading, a tendency for pleasure reading, or both, revealed overlays which were categorized into the themes positive encounters in the home (Applegate et al., 2014; Benevides & Peterson, 2010; Granado & Puig, 2015; Lancellot, 2017; Stocks, 2011; Walker-Dalhouse et al., 2011), experiences with teachers as literacy leaders (Applegate et al., 2014; Granado & Puig, 2015; Huang et al., 2014), and intrinsic rewards (Applegate et al., 2014; Granado & Puig, 2015; Howard, 2011; Lancellot, 2017; Skaar et al., 2018).

Integrating the cognitive and affective domains of literacy learning surfaced in the literature review as including multiple strategies with significant impacts on leisure reading dispositions (Darling-Hammond & Adamson, 2014; Davidson, 2010; Fisher et al., 2016; Fisher et al., 2018; Kunter et al., 2011; McConnell & Kraft, 2011; Rodrigo et al., 2014). Specific strategies suggested for building positive preservice teacher dispositions while in teacher preparation programs included providing opportunities for developing awareness of self as a reader and reflection on professional and personal goals (Berndt, 2015; DeBiase, 2017; Dengler, 2018; Kennedy, 2014; Kindle & Schmidt, 2011; Stocks, 2011) as well as development of activities connecting reading to personal lives (Applegate et al., 2014; Kennedy, 2014; Skaar et al., 2018).

Methodology

The paradigm followed during the study was qualitative inquiry. The qualitative research paradigm is used when researchers intend to understand how people interpret and make meaning of their experiences (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The specific methodology deriving from the problem and research questions was phenomenology. Phenomenology was an appropriate choice for studying leisure reading dispositions because the approach focuses on collecting rich descriptions of the participants’ experiences through one-on-one interviews (Creswell & Poth, 2018).

A purposeful sampling strategy guided the selection of participants (Patton, 2015). Participants were invited to participate in the study if they met the following criteria: (a) they expressed having had experiences related to leisure reading which influenced their attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors with leisure reading; (b) were elementary majors in the university’s education program; (c) were in their student teaching semester; and (d) they had completed all literacy education courses at the specific university where the study was taking place.

The recorded interviews were transcribed, and statements which revealed participants’ experiences with the phenomenon were separated from the original transcript to more clearly see the experiences directly related to the development of the leisure reading disposition (Moustakas, 1994). The researcher then utilized the statements to write textual descriptions of what the participants experienced as well as structural descriptions to explain how they experienced it (Creswell & Poth, 2018). After writing a textural-structural description for each participant, a composite summary of textural and structural descriptions then portrayed the essence and meaning of the phenomenon of leisure reading dispositions (Moustakas, 1994).

Increasing Validity

Qualitative studies such as this ethically requires that the researcher avoid bias to the extent possible using specific validity strategies (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Credibility was achieved through with the following strategies: triangulation (Creswell & Poth, 2018), adequate engagement in data collection (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), and reflective meditation (Moustakas, 1994), epoche, (Moustakas, 1994) and researcher’s reflexivity (Merriam and Tisdell 2016). Reflective meditation, epoche, and researcher’s reflexivity help the researcher set aside all presuppositions, prejudices, and prior experiences with the phenomenon so that it is looked at with an openness which accepts the truth of only what is reported about the phenomenon by the participants. The three types of data utilized to achieve triangulation of data sources were interview transcriptions, field notes, and correspondences from member checks. To achieve credibility through transferability, rich depictions of the context, setting, and participants were included for readers to decide whether the study conclusions were applicable within their contexts (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).

Analysis Procedures and Descriptions Table

The data analysis processes described by Moustakas (1994) guided the researcher to identify invariant constituents, statements representing phenomenon-related experiences. An example of an invariant constituent from Participant 1 is, “I also grew up watching my parents read heavily.” This invariant constituent, statement, represents a phenomenon-related experience, something the participant stated relates to her leisure reading attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors. The statements, invariant constituents, were used to write textural descriptions depicting what was experienced by each participant. The textural descriptions were organized

into core textural themes for each participant. Participant 1’s statement shared previously was bundled within the textural theme Communities of Influence. Each participant’s textural descriptions and core textural themes were essential to the process of imaginative variation which allowed the researcher to glean possible underlying dynamics contributing to the development of leisure reading dispositions (Moustakas, 1994). The process of imaginative variation was used to envision and write structural descriptions which relate how the dispositions came to be. For example, Participant 1’s statements related to experiences and emotions felt while with other readers or non-readers were bundled within the core textural theme Communities of Influence. The core textural theme and textural description were taken into account in developing the structural description which pinpoints connections with reading models as a force facilitating the leisure reading disposition of Participant 1. In the last data analysis steps, the researcher developed textural-structural descriptions which explicate the overall essence of each participants’ leisure reading disposition, and a composite description for the group was developed to include the overarching findings of the study. The core textural themes and a synthesized structural description depicting how the disposition came to be is included in Table 1. A composite description and overarching themes will follow Table 1.

Table 1 Core Textural Themes and Structural Descriptions

Core Textural Themes Participants (What was Experienced)

Structural Description (How Developed)

Participant 1: a) Communities of Influence

Adysenb) Perceptions of Accessibilityc) Purpose Set for Reading

d) Personal Feelings about Reading and Teaching

● Love for and connections with reading models are the main facilitating force. Early connections with family spur reading engagement until negative peer influences halt reading engagement in middle school. Positive connections with reading models during college and adulthood revitalize a lost love of reading. Awareness of the importance of leisure reading stimulates problem solving regarding issues which currently constrain time for reading.

Participant 2: Catherine

a) Exposure to Literacy Leaders

b) Perceptions of Accessibilityc) Purpose for Reading

● Most influenced by feelings of freedom, power, excitement, pride, and connection. A belief in the importance of freedom of choice is influenced by negative and restricted reading experiences in daughter’s life. Continued enjoyment in reading and connection with others who enjoy reading nourishes a passion that seeks to overcome obstacles which constrain available time for leisure reading.

Participant 3: Wendy

a) Preferred Learning Styleb) Environments Encountered

c) Engagement with Various Book Genres

d) Fluctuating Feelings about Reading and Teaching

● Resentment, resistance, and a lack of confidence have created significant barriers to her disposition. Feelings of resentment and regret are connected to a perceived lack of attention on reading development during early childhood. Resistance to reading coupled with a lack of confidence contribute to fluctuating feelings towards reading generated during positive experiences in unrestricted and visually engaging reading environments

Participant 4: Leanne

a) Communities of Influenceb) Perceptions of Accessibilityc) Purpose Set for Reading

d) Personal Feelings about Reading

● Early connections with family members and friends helped to generate a positive disposition towards leisure reading that continued until negative peer influences and perceptions of accessibility interrupted reading engagement during middle school. Connections with readers in high school and college rekindle a love and appreciation for leisure reading but continued time constraints and skills needed to access books hinder engagement.

Participant 5: Hannah

a) Restricted Reading Environments

b) Unrestricted Reading Environments

c) Communities of Influence

● Feelings of closeness and enjoyment of literature established by mother in early childhood are derailed by anguish and despair in K-12 restricted reading environments, specifically related to Accelerated Reader and assigned readings in high school. Unrestricted reading environments in college and adulthood reestablish curiosity ultimately reigniting a love of literature and desire to share literature with others.

Participant 6: Kendra

a) Unrestricted and Encouraging Reading Environments

b) Restricted Reading Environments

c) Perceived Time Constraints

d) Personal Purpose and Desire to Prioritize Reading a) Unrestricted and Stress-free Reading Environments

● Feelings of persistent delight in literature modeled by her mother build determination to read despite obstacles related to limited access to books through book leveling systems in school and perceived access to time for reading in adulthood. Personal desire and enjoyment of reading give positive vitality to her reading disposition.

Participant 7: Marley

b) Restricted Reading Experiences

c) Project-Based Literacy Assignments

● Emotional anxieties faced in Accelerated Reader program unraveled a foundational appreciation and love for leisure reading established during early childhood. Emotions and experiences throughout her years as a young adult helped to revive her interest and engagement in reading for pleasure.

Note. Column one lists the seven preservice teachers involved in the study. Column two represents the core textural themes describing what was experienced by preservice teachers. Column three represents the synthesized structural descriptions relating how each disposition came to be developed throughout the lives of participants. Reprinted from Oliver, D. R. (2020). A phenomenological inquiry: Discovering forces facilitating leisure reading dispositions of elementary preservice teachers (28001828) [Doctoral dissertation, Southwestern College] ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: The Humanities and Social Science Collection.

Composite Description as Key Findings

The last step in Moustakas’ (1994) steps of data analysis required the researcher utilize the individual textural-structural descriptions to develop a composite description of essences “representing the group as a whole” (p. 121). The composite description characterizes the complete essence of the phenomenon. It is the “intuitive integration of the fundamental textural

and structural descriptions into a unified statement of the essences of the experience of the phenomenon as a whole” (Moustakas, 1994, p. 100). The essence of leisure reading dispositions included in this study is best described through the emergence of four overarching themes which are presented here as 4 key findings of the study:

Finding 1. Elementary preservice teachers’ leisure reading dispositions are susceptible to the communities of people who influence them.

Finding 2. Elementary preservice teachers’ leisure reading dispositions are inherently linked to the purposes they hold for reading.

Finding 3. Elementary preservice teachers’ leisure reading dispositions are a reflection of the view they hold of themselves as a reader.

Finding 4. Elementary preservice teachers’ leisure reading dispositions are susceptible to perceptions of freedom and accessibility.

Finding One: Elementary preservice teachers’ leisure reading dispositions are susceptible to the communities of people who influence them.

Communities of people who influenced the participants included family members, peers, teachers from elementary, middle, and high school levels, as well as college professors. Prior to entering school, the home environment was able to lay a foundational love of reading. All participants told stories that illustrated various in-home routines they had with their mothers, siblings, and grandparents. Adysen illustrates an example of these crucial routines as she recalled,

I remember every single night before I went to bed, my mom would always say, “Go pick a book out of the bookshelf, come in here, and we'll read it.” So, we'd always sit down every night, old brown rocking chair, I'm feeling nostalgic now thinking of it, and we'd read two or three books before bed.

The relationships built with literacy leaders in school were also important to inspiring positive leisure reading dispositions. Catherine illustrated the power of a teacher to broaden the reading engagement of students as she recounted the effect of her experiences in Mr. Patton’s sixth-grade classroom as he read Matilda (Dahl, 1988):

It just encouraged me, even more, to seek out books that I might not normally have chosen and to try them and find new things and read outside of my series that I was so in love with. And learning that there's this whole big world of authors, and the world of books is so much bigger than what you know, what I had been trying. Although I had read lots of books, I had kind of saddled myself to series because I liked the consistency. I liked the comfort of that. . . So, it helped me to become more open-minded when I would go to the library, like “Let me try this over here. No, it's not a series, but it will be okay.” And, more often than not, I ended up loving whatever I chose.

The impact of a teacher does not stop in the K-12 school district. Adysen, Catherine,

Wendy, and Hannah also referred to the influence of a college professor. Wendy noted the positive influence of her Introduction to Literature professor. Adysen recalled her Children’s Literature professor was the “only person in college that really pushed for that [leisure reading].” Just as teachers can influence dispositions positively, they also have the ability to make negative impacts, even if they are unintentional. This is best captured as Adysen explained,

I feel like I had good reading teachers my sixth and seventh-grade year, but they didn't facilitate a love of reading. They didn't push very heavily for leisure reading. It was more of lessons and content and not really setting aside time to leisure read in class or pushing for us to read outside of class, like in elementary school. . . They didn't push for it. . . That aspect that kind of hurts students as well, not pushing that.

The impact of peers was also a significant influencing factor for all participants. When asked who Wendy felt influenced her disposition the most during her years in school, she stated, “Teachers and your peers, especially your peers. I feel like I learned a lot from my peers, sometimes more than I can learn from teachers, just because they can explain in a total different way for me to understand.” Often, peers were noted by participants as being able to have a positive influence, but Adysen and Leanne also noted middle school peers did not view reading as something popular to do. Adysen even noted that she was made fun of for being seen reading. She explained, “I think, kind of, that might have influenced me in a way of getting away from reading because I thought, ‘Well, nobody else is doing it, so I'm not going to. Um, it's not cool to read.’” This finding reveals the importance of communities of influencers and demonstrates the power of families, peers, and teachers to facilitate dispositions in both positive and negative ways.

Finding Two: Elementary preservice teachers’ leisure reading dispositions are inherently linked to the purposes they hold for reading.

All participating preservice teachers related being driven to read for various purposes. Purposes for reading that continue to impact them today are largely intrinsic in nature and most commonly revolve around the desire to connect with others and advance their own life satisfaction. Kendra, Hannah, Catherine, and Wendy all shared stories that illustrate this finding. Wendy related, “When I do that [leisure read], I do feel more calm, more centered and can just let go of things that I am keeping.” Hannah stated, “It's like a stress reliever too, because, even on my most stressful days, I just want to go home and kick my feet up and read. I don't want to do anything else.” Kendra and Catherine relied on books to pass time during moments of trial, like the absence of a father or during family disagreements. Kendra stated, “Reading was usually how I handled my emotions. Instead of lashing out or crying or something, I'd just usually read a book, and I was just happy reading a book.” Hannah also related the experience of enjoying the escape books can offer now as an adult: “I just get into my own universe about whatever's going on in my book. Again, I'm reading the Unwind series, and I just started the last book, so my mind's always on like [the characters] Risa and whatever Connor's doing and what's going to

happen with Cam.” All participants discussed the value of connecting with others through shared reading experiences. Hannah, like Catherine and Kendra, continues to share reading experiences with her mother. Leanne further illustrated the joy sharing in literature brought her as a young child in elementary school:

One time, me and one of my friends tried to make a little book club, but nobody else joined. So, we just did it ourselves. [laughing] We read the same book, and then we would wait for each other to get on the next chapter or whatever. But I don't know. That was fun.

Hannah summarized one purpose for reading as the need for connecting with others when she stated, “I want to tell people all the time about the latest book that I've read.” Adysen, Hannah, Leanne, Catherine, and Marley also shared they read for the purpose of extending learning related to their work in the classroom.

As K-12 students, participants related they were sometimes driven to read through the extrinsic rewards they received. Adysen and Leanne stated they both enjoyed reading for incentives. Catherine recalled “pride” at being “recognized” for turning in reading logs as teachers would place a sticker on the wall each time she turned in a reading log. Alternatively, Hannah revealed the way she experienced the lack of receiving rewards as punishment, “It almost made it feel like a punishment that I wasn't reading well enough.” The use of a technology-based independent reading motivation and management program called Accelerated Reader (Renaissance, n.d.) was discussed by six of the seven participants. While three participants related they equated joy with the receiving of rewards associated with earning point goals set within the Accelerated Reader program, all three of these participants experienced significant decreases in reading behaviors as they entered middle and high school, thus indicating the reward may only have been effective in the short term. Two different participants related significant hardships and emotional turmoil experienced while trying to attain rewards tied to leisure reading.

Overall, the lasting purposes held for reading in this group of participants were largely intrinsic. Participants read to connect with others and to advance life satisfaction. While six of the seven participants experienced schools with reading incentives, the success of these incentives was not consistent and was not found to have positive effects on engagement in reading beyond the time frame associated with the reward initiative in place.

Finding Three: Elementary preservice teachers’ leisure reading dispositions are a reflection of the view they hold of themselves as a reader.

The participants in this study often behaved according to the view they held of themselves as a reader. Six of the seven participants who developed positive views of self in early childhood enjoyed positive attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors throughout early childhood. Early in life, Wendy’s experiences influenced a self-view which communicated reading was not something she enjoyed doing. She has never adopted a view of herself as a

person who prioritizes reading for pleasure. Kendra and Catherine, two of the six participants who developed strong and positive views of self in early childhood, were largely able to retain a positive leisure reading disposition throughout their life with only ever encountering slight and brief struggles to manage time within the constraints of daily life obligations.

Two additional participants, Adysen and Leanne, who enjoyed positive early childhood dispositions and views of self, had their views and dispositions reversed during their middle school years. Adysen identified herself as a strong reader in elementary school. She knew she “was on a higher level than most other students.” Adysen read widely and often in both early childhood and elementary school. It was not until the negative influences of friends in middle school and encountering less access to books in her middle school library that Adysen began to lose interest in leisure reading, identify as a nonreader, and quit reading entirely. Once in the college course Children’s Literature, a requirement for her education degree, Adysen reignited her interest and easily began to engage in reading for pleasure once again. She continues to engage and strives to better herself as a reader and model today. Leanne’s positive view of self as a reader took a turn in middle school as well. When Leanne’s peers began to see leisure reading in a negative light, she developed a view of self as a nonreader and correspondingly lost engagement in reading.

Marley and Hannah also seemed to live up to the images created of themselves as readers. Marley and Hannah, two of the six participants who began life with positive views of self and dispositions, ultimately saw their views of self and dispositions shift as they encountered experiences with Accelerated Reader. Hannah stated that, through her experiences with Accelerated Reader, she began to view herself as “a terrible reader.” Throughout her years of elementary, middle, and high school this self-perception persisted, and, by high school, Hannah began to engage in cheating through the use of SparkNotes, an online reference website providing website visitors with summaries of books. This experience only brought about further negative feelings which propelled a lack of engagement in leisure reading. Hannah explained that cheating in this manner was, “really embarrassing for myself. Too, whenever I think about it, in high school, I was a straight-A student and to think that I was a straight-A student who was, like [long pause], I felt like I was cheating on that time, too. . . So, knowing that I'm a straight-A student, knowing that I'm capable, and then knowing I wasn't pushing myself. It was a lot of being really hard on myself.” Once Hannah entered college, she encountered an environment that encouraged her to reconsider her beliefs about herself and reading. In time, Hannah was able to rebuild a positive disposition. With a renewed positive view of herself as a reader, Hannah began to engage in reading more consistently for the purpose of enjoyment. Marley also began with a positive view of self and disposition in early childhood but was thrown off course by experiences in Accelerated Reader. As she struggled to meet her goals in the time set, she developed a less confident view of self as a reader. She perceived herself a slow reader who struggled to meet expectations of her teachers. She associated stress and anxiety with leisure reading, and, once she was free of the requirement to read for Accelerated Reader, she quit engaging in leisure reading altogether.

For both Hannah and Marley, their positive self view and positive disposition in early childhood was derailed and replaced with a negative view resulting in a negative disposition until positive experiences were again able to restore their view of self and ultimately rebuild their disposition. The researcher also carefully analyzed whether it was the beliefs about oneself that influenced the behavior or beliefs about leisure reading influencing behaviors. Hannah stated when discussing her deteriorating disposition,

I want to say it started in third grade that reading was put on me, and those AR [Accelerated Reader] goals kind of became an issue and then the older I got, the more I thought, “I'm a terrible reader. What's the point in even reading? This isn't fun anymore. I don't want to do it.”

In this excerpt, it seems that the belief of oneself, “I’m a terrible reader,” predicates the belief about leisure reading, “this isn’t fun anymore,” and finally influences the behavior, “I don’t want to do it.” This study, therefore, adds further clarity for understanding the degree to which Accelerated Reader can potentially influence students’ views of themselves and ultimately their leisure reading dispositions. Altogether the views participants held of themselves proved to have direct implications for their leisure reading behaviors.

Finding Four: Elementary preservice teachers’ leisure reading dispositions are susceptible to perceptions of freedom and accessibility.

Freedom to select reading material of interest as well as accessibility to reading, in a physical sense and in regard to time for reading, was repeatedly noted to be of importance throughout the participant interviews. Books were available and read to each participant within the home environment prior to formally beginning school. However, once entering school, Hannah, Kendra, Marley, and Leanne related perceived limitations to physical access to books due to the restrictions placed on them within the leveling system of Accelerated Reader. This limitation resulted in feelings of “annoyance” for both Kendra and Leanne. Although Leanne stated she felt she had a good variety of books she liked in her level, there would be times where,

Your friend would be reading, and she’d tell me about it. I'd be like, “Oh, I really want I read that,” but it'd be too high or too low, and I wouldn't be able to test on it. And then it would just kind of be “Well, I'll read that during the summer.” . . . but then summer would come, and I’d forget . . . [I felt] annoyed because I wanted to read different books, but I felt like I was kind of steered in a different direction when I could have read fun books.

Neither Marley nor Hannah wanted to engage in leisure reading for most of their time in K- 12 schools and directly related this to their experience with Accelerated Reader (AR). Marley stated, “I think when I started getting deep into the AR program was when I started to not like reading as much.” She explained how the leveling system influenced her: “We had a range of what we could read. So, we can only go down this low on this level. You could have went a little

higher, but you can't go lower.” The restricted reading experiences in the Accelerated Reader program had detrimental effects on Marley’s reading disposition:

It made me not want to leisure read at all. It didn't make me view it as leisure reading at all. Once I got in seventh grade and got out of the AR thing from sixth grade and down, I didn't read unless I had to for English, and I didn't start reading again probably till college.

After sixth-grade, Marley never again went to the library to check out a library book. Hannah felt punished by the reward system in place with Accelerated Reader, but the leveling system also affected her behaviors with leisure reading. She explained,

They had a dot system, and on your library card, they would put the color of dots that you were allowed to read. And I remember I was like a dark green and that was like mid-level. The highest level in our elementary library, the fifth, sixth-grade library, was hot pink. And there were so many hot, hot pink books that I really wanted to read, but I was told I wasn't allowed to because my library card didn't show that I could read those because the level was too high . . . it was like they set my own bar for me.

While Catherine’s own public-school experience did not include limited access to books, she did discuss the anger and frustration she feels as a parent who has a daughter limited by the leveling system of Accelerated Reader. She related how her daughter refused to read books unless they are first checked to ensure they are “in her level” because the daughter feels reading outside of the level is a waste of time, as reading books outside of her range will not earn her any points at school. Catherine stated,

That's not the relationship I want my child to have with books. And so where I went out of my way to find books and find stories and read and went out of my way to find time to read those books and explore those stories, my daughter now goes out of her way to try to avoid those books, and avoid those stories, and avoid those adventures because times are different. Her circumstances are so vastly different than the ones that I experienced, and she doesn't have those liberties that I had and the encouragement that I had. She's being encouraged to read, which I was also, but only if it fits inside this box and that's not how my child works. I can't speak for every child, but it frustrates her and to the point where she gives up.

Catherine’s own experiences with freedom of choice make observing her daughter’s current struggles with a leveled book system even harder. As a child, Catherine recalled, “It made me feel a little bit powerful that I had the freedom to choose what I was curious about and what I was interested in.” Kendra, Hannah, and Wendy related feelings of resentment towards situations wherein they were forced to read materials they were uninterested in. For example, Kendra stated, “I hated being told, ‘You have to read this.’” In addition to restrictions on reading and perceived lack of freedom to choose, participants related their struggles accessing time for

reading at various points in their lived experiences. During elementary school, both Hannah and Marley related they felt immense pressure to read at rates beyond their ability in order to reach Accelerated Reader point goals. Marley described her struggle to read within the time constraints needed to achieve her point goal:

Maybe just the goals were too high. Like if it [the point goal] could have just been set for [Drop Everything and Read] DEAR time, which I know you have to read at home, but they were just too much. Maybe they just made my goals too high, where it made me stress out. I felt like I had to read all weekend.

Once Marley, Leanne, Wendy, and Adysen reached middle school, time to read became limited. Marley illustrates the common struggle, “I played basketball. So, I never really had time to just, you know, feel the need to wanna sit down and read.” Catherine explained the workrelated struggle common also to Kendra and Leanne:

I was so overwhelmed by adulting, if you will, that I took 14 hours of classes and I worked 35 hours a week. So I didn't, I would leave class, change my clothes, get in my car, drive to work, work until 11:00 o'clock at night, drive back to the dorms, do homework until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, get up and do it all again the next day. And so, yeah, it was really kind of sad for me because there was a lot going on in my life at the time, and I would have loved nothing more than to have grabbed a book and sat in my dorm room and read the day away but it wasn't an option at that time.

Six of the seven participants expressed a continued struggle to make time for leisure reading. Marley, Leanne, and Catherine discussed the value of now having access to audiobooks which make accessing time to reading easier as they are able to engage in reading while working on additional tasks like working or driving. Kendra related she has learned to balance her time to incorporate reading more regularly. Her method for balancing reveals the place reading takes in her current life: “If I'm really into a book, I'll put off sleep, or laundry, or something else that needs to be done so I can finish it.” Adysen related her personal efforts to make more time for reading as she described, “I still feel like I have a lot of work to do on being a better reader and setting aside time for it, but I feel like, if I do just a little bit each day, it'll make me grow more.” Overall, access to perceived quality texts, the freedom and power to select books according to their will, and the desire to read despite complex issues related to time constraints were evident throughout study interviews.

Overview of the Findings as Related to the Research Questions

The overarching research question to be answered through the inquiry process was, “What forces facilitate leisure reading dispositions in preservice teachers in an elementary teaching program?” The summary of findings revealed elementary preservice teachers were susceptible to the communities of people who influence them, the purposes they hold for leisure reading, their view of self as a reader, and their perceptions of freedom and accessibility.

The initial secondary research question addressed was, “Who or what influences the forces facilitating leisure reading dispositions?” Of all the secondary research questions, this one was the most difficult to discern. This difficulty became clear as the researcher sought to discover who or what influenced the communities which influenced participants in the study. From the transcripts, no evidence was found to identify who or what influenced the parents that served as strong reading models for their children. However, there were occasionally parental choices that were influenced by identifiable sources. For instance, Leanne’s mother often drove them to a nearby town to visit the library. Leanne related this was due to the limited supply of books available within the public library in which the family lived. In elementary school, Hannah was punished by her parents, made to spend the evening of her brother's birthday celebration alone reading in her room because a teacher had called home to alert parents that Hannah had not met an Accelerated Reader goal. This event caused Hannah great despair, and she admitted to hating reading after the event, never again meeting an Accelerated Reader goal.

When Marley was asked to reflect on who or what she felt influenced her negative experiences with Accelerated Reader she similarly stated, “Probably just my reading teacher that I had from fourth grade to sixth grade. Just because she was kind of in charge of it.” Alternatively, when Catherine was asked who or what she perceived influenced her daughter's negative experiences with Accelerated Reader she stated, “I don't know who makes the decision to use the programs. I don't know if that comes from the district or the state. But the teacher is responsible for executing the program to the guidelines that they're given.” This quote opens up a broader question of who or what may be truly mandating the use of the program that was noted by six of the seven participants as facilitating at least some negative influence on their disposition.

When considering who or what influences the views readers hold of themselves it seemed the best indication came from Hannah who stated, “The teachers and students just kind of had that grip on my mind that, ‘Hannah, you can’t do this.’” The notion that it is the communities of people who surrounded the participants which influenced their view of self was further supported by Catherine’s assertion that she felt “recognized” for her ability at school, and Leanne’s story of the teacher who made a lasting impact on her through providing her with encouragement and compliments related to reading. The influencer of perceived access to time was clearer. The addition of homework experienced in the secondary and higher education courses as well as extra-curricular activities and the need to engage in work to maintain a living wage were largely attributed to lack of access to time for reading.

The next secondary research question was, “How are the forces facilitating leisure reading dispositions experienced?” The emotions experienced with communities of influence depended largely upon the level of encouragement for reading being provided by the people involved. When participants encountered people of influence that were encouraging, they often felt emotions of joy and love. This was evident throughout the commentary of six of the seven participants who had joyful reading experiences with their mothers in early childhood, and also by Wendy when she finally began to associate “joy” with reading in her favored high school

teacher's classroom. When Adysen encountered teachers in middle school she perceived as not pushing her to read, she stated that it “hurt students.” When she visited the library only to find books she did not perceive as engaging, as well as when she was ridiculed by peers for reading, she felt “disappointment.” When allowed access to time for reading around the room during DEAR time, all participants related feelings of enjoyment.

When perceived access to time and books was limited in elementary school through her experiences with Accelerated Reader, Marley described her emotions as “stressful.” Catherine described the emotions she witnesses in her daughter as “anxious, nervous, and scared.” Hannah described the influence of Accelerated Reader as making her feel “ashamed,” “upset and discouraged,” as well as “embarrassed” and “defeated.” Wendy and Leanne noted how their feelings and emotions could transform during a reading experience. While at first, they related they might be resistant to reading, the story and the ability to talk about the book with their peers often had the potential to shift their emotions to feelings of excitement and enjoyment. When participants' views of self as a reader were positively influenced and they began to see themselves with more positive regard, they were also more likely to experience leisure reading with emotions of happiness and joy. Ultimately, emotions describing experiences of participants were more likely to be positive when opportunities to share literature were present and encouragement, freedom, and access to time were perceived.

The last secondary research question was, “What are the perceptions of leisure reading that emerge from the preservice teachers’ lived experience?” The perception of leisure reading that emerged from the totality of the lived experiences of participants is that leisure reading is joyful, exciting, and adds value to your life when experienced under specific conditions. The conditions revealed as necessary included: involvement with communities of people who encourage them and share in their reading experiences, maintaining an intrinsic purpose for reading and positive view of oneself as a reader, and freedom to select materials of personal interest with access to time for engagement.

Implications for Policies and Practices

The insights and findings that emerge from his study have tremendous potential to positively influence the development of leisure reading dispositions of students in K-20 educational systems. The following section outlines recommendations K-12 school districts, institutions of higher education, and educator preparatory programs should consider as they engage in decision making actions which contribute to the leisure reading dispositions of students in their care. Recommendations are organized in relation to each of the key findings.

Key Finding One Recommendations

K-12 school districts, institutions of higher education, and educator preparatory programs should be intentional in designing environments which allow for positive communities of influence to flourish. This includes ensuring opportunities for teachers and students to discuss

books in the classroom and further creating opportunities which allow students to recommend books to one another and engage in reading the same books when desired. This research provides explicit evidence of the effectiveness and importance of including a children’s literature course within the preparatory programs completed by preservice teachers. Courses outside of children’s literature were also mentioned as influential. Three participants related the way book readings and discussion in other courses, including one general education course and three additional required education courses, stimulated their interest and engagement in reading for pleasure. Due to this testimony, it is recommended that professors throughout higher education incorporate discussions of text which allow students to demonstrate their understandings and enjoyment in the literature assigned to them.

Key Finding Two Recommendations

K-12 school districts, institutions of higher education, and educator preparatory programs should be intentional in helping students establish and maintain intrinsic purposes for reading. This study revealed reading rewards and incentive programs did not make lasting impacts on reading dispositions, while the more intrinsically related purposes for reading surfaced as longlasting and continually available outlets to motivate engagement throughout the lifetime. Moreover, when students feared denial in engagement in school wide parties and field trips, significant and negative affectual consequences were experienced. The negative effects of reward systems should encourage schools to address resulting implications for the disregard of students’ affectual and emotional well-being as well as their obligation to maintain confidentiality of students’ academic information.

Key Finding Three Recommendations

K-12 school districts, institutions of higher education, and educator preparatory programs should be intentional in engaging students in reflective activities and discussion which guide students in becoming aware of the views they hold of themselves as readers and further capitalize on transitional opportunities. Due to the commentaries in this study which demonstrated participants’ ability to reflect on their behaviors and ultimate influence in the classroom, it is especially critical that literacy education instructors intentionally engage preservice teachers in the process of reflecting on their experiences and articulating their attitudes, values, and beliefs about leisure reading so that dispositional change can occur as needed. Students should be guided to articulate connections between their experiences and their current dispositions, envision desired dispositions, as well as communicate an understanding of how their dispositions will influence others or future students. Transitional opportunities which this research revealed hold potential for affecting positive change at any level included providing choice in reading assignments, implementation of project-based literacy assignments, and opportunities for discussion of text which allows for personal connections between the text and

students’ lives to be revealed.

Key Finding Four Recommendations

K-12 school districts, institutions of higher education, and educator preparatory programs should make intentional efforts to address issues constraining perceived time for reading as well as ensure students have physical access to and freedom to choose books of interest to them. Categorizing students according to reading scores which are clearly communicated to others through the color labeling and book leveling system of Accelerated Reader was demonstrated to have negative effects on six of the seven participants’ leisure reading dispositions. Helping students and teachers to learn specific methods for determining the appropriate difficulty of books independently, without a labeled leveling system, could hold better potential for assisting readers in selecting appropriate texts beyond the school library and into adulthood. Discussing with students the readability of the text in conjunction with the book’s potential for satisfying the students’ purpose for reading, to escape or to learn for example, may further build the skills students will need in order to engage in reading independently of the school context and into adulthood. Allow time for in school reading and engage readers in brainstorming how to access time outside of school for leisure reading. Institutions of higher education should be conscientious of the transition of students coming from high schools and students new to the institution in general. It should not be assumed that students are familiar with utilizing library catalogs or classification systems. Intentional efforts should be made by institution faculty and library staff to demonstrate library use related processes to incoming students.

Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to describe factors facilitating the leisure reading dispositions of preservice elementary teachers just prior to graduating from their preparatory program. Although the purpose of the study was achieved, potential for change lies with the ability of stakeholders to take action. The prospects of knowledge without action are merely desires unfulfilled. While we may desire classrooms headed by passionate readers, without actionable change resistance to leisure reading among our students and teachers may persist. Freedom of choice and implications of extrinsic rewards were key areas that surfaced in this research and continue to be brought up in conversations with other teachers and leaders at conferences I’ve attended, the parents with whom I’ve spoken informally, and the future teachers who walk in the hallways and inhabit the classrooms of our higher education institutions. Eliminating leveled libraries, allowing choice, and reevaluating reward systems may not be easy places to start but they are crucial areas to begin immediately evaluating. When Leanne was asked if she felt the rewards associated with Accelerated Reader had any impact on her current leisure reading disposition she stated,

Yeah, I guess, I'm kind of a type of person where I have to, I need to know that there's a

reason why I'm doing it sometimes. So, like if I'm studying for something, I'm like, “Okay, I'm going to get through this page, and then I'm going to eat a gummy bear,” or something like that. I kind of have to reward myself in that sense, too.

This statement was troubling to the researcher, suggesting the need to better understand the long- term effects of reading rewards offered to children when they are establishing tendencies which will guide their behaviors throughout adulthood. Through this research it has been further shown that students are influenced by the reading attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors of their teachers. We cannot build teachers as readers through an endless supply of gummy bears or pizza or popsicles. It must be through the development of the intrinsic rewards of community and connection with characters, stories, and other readers which we build not only the readers in our k-12 classrooms, but the readers that become our teachers. It may only be through the concurrent consideration of these findings, implications, recommendations, and corresponding action steps of stakeholders that positive dispositional development in students and future teachers comes to fruition.

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Dr. Dana Oliver is an assistant professor and Reading Specialist Program Director at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. She serves as the Chair of the Oklahoma Higher Education Reading Council, on the Board of the Oklahoma Literacy Association, and ILA’s Concern for Affect in Reading Education Special Interest Group. Recently, Dr. Oliver’s dissertation, from which this article was developed, received the Distinguished Dissertation Award from the Association of Teacher Educators of Kansas. Dr. Oliver is also a recent recipient of the Oklahoma DaVinci Institute Fellowship Award. She can be reached at dana.oliver@swosu.edu.

The Oklahoma Reader 58-1 Spring 2022

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