Critical reading: Why do some students lack motivation to read?

In the blog this week, we will consider current research that illustrates a steady decline in student motivation, engagement, and interest in reading academic texts. This issue is an essential prerequisite to our exploration of strategies to develop critical reading abilities that forms the primary focus in this current blog series.

Why some students lack interest or motivation to read

Recent research consistently confirms that students at both high school and university have limited motivation, engagement, and comprehension of academic texts, while only between 20 and 30 percent of students read assigned materials. Moreover, students consistently underestimate the centrality of course readings, while frequently not regarding assigned texts as their primary source of information.

In addition to weak time and project management abilities, one of the primary reasons for limited reading engagement is that some students appear unprepared for the sudden challenge of encountering a variety of challenging academic texts. This then raises the question of the extent to which, especially in the early stage of the university experience, students need to be taught a range of academic reading strategies, particularly in relation to critical reading and effective note-making.

Reasons why students fail to fully engage in reading

Many factors relating to culture, life experiences, and personal characteristics before and at university combine to make some students reluctant readers. Examples of common key issues are illustrated in the diagram shown below.

Note. Adapted from Lynch, A. (2021). https://www.edrawsoft.com/reading-interest-fishbone.html

What is important to note in the image above is the complexity of the factors that can limit or restrict full engagement with reading. Therefore, educators need to avoid any interventions that even hint of a one-size-fits-all strategy. This is why addressing learning issues such as reading are best addressed in a confidential tutorial context.

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Question 1

Is the apparent decline of interest in reading a generational issue?

Question 2

To what extent is motivating students to read the responsibility of the teachers?

Question 3

Why is learning how to analyse assigned tasks an essential first step in the process of critical reading?

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We will explore Question 3 in the next blog.