Development of Interest in Reading on the Part of Students and Future Academics

Abstract

Introduction: Interest in reading and reader activities cannot be developed efficiently without deeper knowledge of the effects of relevant factors. Purpose: The aim of this paper is to provide information on the specifics of the creation of interest in reading in the course of future academics’ lives. Methods: This knowledge was obtained from second-year teacher students in the bachelor program at the University of Hradec Kralove by means of readers’ biographies and interviews. After six years, the investigation was repeated. Participants’ written records about their development of interest in reading were analysed, open-coded and category coded. Limitations: The results apply to only a sample of university-educated persons in the field of teaching. Conclusions: Realized experiences encourage interdisciplinary discourse and cooperation in deepening the knowledge about this topic and its follow-up application in teacher training at universities in all teaching specializations.