Options
Examining the impact of an e-reading programme in a local secondary school
Author
Sia, Karen Gee Han
Supervisor
Loh, Chin Ee
Abstract
This action research aims to explore the impact of a nine-session e-reading programme on a class of 34 secondary one students, leveraging on the nationwide rollout of personal learning devices to all students studying in Singapore government schools, and the free access to a large collection of e-books provided by the National Library Board of Singapore. Quantitative data regarding the students’ reading attitudes and digital reading habits were collected from surveys conducted before and after the implementation of the
programme. These were supplemented by qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with five focus group participants conducted before and after the programme. Results showed some marginal improvements in the participants’ attitudes towards reading, with more students identifying themselves as readers, and reporting an increase in reading frequency. However, the programme’s efforts to engage the participants’ intrinsic motivation proved to be less effective, and participants reporting even lower social motivation to read and continuing to prefer to engage in other leisure activities over reading after implementation. Thematic
analysis of the interview data showed that the success of the e-reading programme can be attributed to the provision of time and conducive environment to read, as well as the timely, convenient access to engaging materials that Libby, the NLB reading app, provides. However, the relative weaker design of follow-up activities meant that students were less socially motivated to read, and the lack of utilisation of the recommendations from a website dedicated to promoting reading, discoveReads, meant that students still struggled to find engaging materials. Also potentially hampering the success of the programme is the tension between the desire of the programme to encourage reading for pleasure and the prevailing narrative of reading for grades that students were familiar with, since this meant that they may choose materials that are less engaging to them just because they think it would help them improve academically. Nevertheless, the study showed that it is possible to socialise adolescents to read digitally through a e-reading programme, allowing educators to tap on the various affordances of e-reading that can potentially encourage adolescents to read for leisure more regularly. A redesigned programme conducted over a longer period may also yield better results.
Date Issued
2023
Call Number
LB1632 Sia
Date Submitted
2023