Essential but Invisible: Collegiate Academic Reading Explored from the Faculty Perspective

Desa, Geoffrey; Howard, Pamela; Gorzycki, Meg; Allen, Diane D.

doi:10.1080/87567555.2020.1766406

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Reading is an integral component of many university courses, but it is largely “invisible,” in the curriculum; it is an assumed skill, one which often is not overtly taught (Hutchings, 2015; Desa et al ., 2020). Students believe they should enter college with the requisite reading skills to be successful.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The reader's way: student process guiding library practice

Armstrong¹,

Insua²,

Lantz³

2023

RSR

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PurposeThis paper explores the academic reading behaviors of first-year students in an attempt to understand their experiences and develop potential reading interventions to support undergraduate students.Design/methodology/approachResearchers used qualitative research methods to elicit in-depth findings regarding reading behaviors. They interviewed fifteen first-year students who had completed a required writing course regarding their reading habits and used open coding to analyze interviews.FindingsInvestigators discovered that the narrative from national media that students do not read discounts the volume and variety of texts that students regularly interact with in a variety of contexts. Several themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Students like to read in a variety of designated spaces at any time of the day or night, (2) Students prefer reading in print, but mostly read online, and (3) Students reported difficult vocabulary as the most significant challenge in reading academic texts, but also reported emotional concerns regarding reading.Originality/valueWhile previous studies have focused on factors such as format preference and time limitations that influence reading behaviors, this study contributes to the body of research looking at the reading behaviors of college students more holistically, providing new insights informing a range of library interventions to support student success in academic reading. In its use of student interviews, this study offers a student-centered contribution to the literature on student reading behaviors and considers the implications of these behaviors on librarian practice.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The reader's way: student process guiding library practice

Armstrong¹,

Insua²,

Lantz³

2023

RSR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Rather than reading to understand and contribute to an ongoing field of research as faculty do, undergraduates typically perform a cost-benefit analysis prior to reading, choosing only to do readings if they determine it will help them obtain a particular grade in a class or score well on an exam [16]. If they attain these goals without reading, they understand that academic reading, while valuable in general, is unessential to academic achievement [8]. Secondly, researchers point out inadequate institutional-level reading support, as educators commonly "fail to engage in academic reading pedagogies" [8].…”

Section: Time Restrictions and Inadequate Institutional Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Academic reading is integral to success at higher education institutions, in part because reading academic papers is a daily task for researchers, graduate and undergraduate students alike. Literature surrounding academic reading emphasizes reading's importance and centrality to the college curriculum [1,8,13]. The text has to be actively and critically engaged with, as both are a crucial part of the learning process and for gaining the benefits of reading [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Literature surrounding academic reading emphasizes reading's importance and centrality to the college curriculum [1,8,13]. The text has to be actively and critically engaged with, as both are a crucial part of the learning process and for gaining the benefits of reading [8]. Academic reading is important not only because failure to complete required readings is associated with declining exam performance and research performance [16], but also because strong reading capabilities foster effective participation in scholarly conversations [19], ultimately furthering academic research progress on the whole.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the central importance of academic reading to successful learning in higher education, struggles with academic reading comprehension are widespread, especially at the undergraduate level. While academic reading struggles are multi-faceted in nature, being influenced by a multitude of factors including "proficiency in the material's printed language, motivation, self-regulation, academic background, self efficacy and students' academic life adjustment" [5], these struggles are largely due to both student and institutional shortcomings [8,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Student Selected Team Based Capstone Project In Rf Communications

Richards¹,

Denton²

2009 Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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Academic reading as a grudging act: how do Higher Education students experience academic reading and what can educators do about it?

Mason,

Warmington

2024

High Educ

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This article examines Higher Education students’ experiences of academic reading as a grudging act: something that is performed reluctantly or half-heartedly, because it has to be done. Drawing on group interviews with 30 social science undergraduates, registered at a research-intensive UK university, we offer a reflexive thematic analysis of academic reading, experienced as ‘a struggle’, as ‘a chore’ and as ‘pointless’. Our analysis centres the experiential dimensions of reading, revealing how student orientations towards reading—and the teaching that surrounds it—can influence their practices. The article makes two original contributions to the developing literature about student reading experiences in Higher Education. First, by examining student accounts of reading through Bottero’s (2022) sociology of ‘grudging acts’, we extend what is known about the intersection between reading experiences and practices, raising important questions for educators in the social sciences and beyond. Second, by examining what educators can do in response to these challenges, we collate and extend existing guidance for educators that seek to support student engagement with academic reading in Higher Education.

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Essential but Invisible: Collegiate Academic Reading Explored from the Faculty Perspective

Cited by 9 publications

References 33 publications

The reader's way: student process guiding library practice

The reader's way: student process guiding library practice

A Student Selected Team Based Capstone Project In Rf Communications

Academic reading as a grudging act: how do Higher Education students experience academic reading and what can educators do about it?

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