In the discussion above regarding the changing notions of literacy within the digital environment of reading, perceptions of reading in the ‘new textual landscapes’ (Carrington, 2005) have been placed in broader contexts. Simply deriving meaning from what is read seems to be not enough (OECD, 2003). It has been argued (e.g., Lankshear & Knobel, 2008, 2011; Street, 2005, 2008) that
25 reading is embedded in social practices where ‘understanding, using and reflecting on written information for a variety of purposes’ (OECD, 2003) are included. It appears that affective aspects of readers have been emphasised as well, rather than just focusing on the cognitive components of reading, such as reading skills (e.g., Hock et al., 2009; Morgan & Fuchs, 2007). In terms of digital reading, McKenna et al. (2012) argue that there has been an expanded idea of what constitutes literate activities because ‘digital environments are not simply electronic version of print counterparts’ (p.285). Martin’s (2008) definition of digital literacy also involves the ‘awareness’ and ‘attitudes’ as components, which suggests that affective aspects need to be considered as well for insights into what constitutes reading. Echoing such expanded ideas, Bulfin and Koutsogiannis (2012) demonstrate that ‘a skills-based strand’ is not enough to understand the ‘complex meaning making activities’ due to the changed elements of reading.
Therefore, on the basis of the dynamic nature of literacy in the digital age, serious consideration of what readers think about digital reading seems to be important in order to deepen our understanding of the nature of reading in the digital age.
Another reason to explore readers’ perspectives of reading is that investigations into readers’ perceptions of reading may ‘contribute to our understanding of reading comprehension and reading difficulties’ (McKenna et al., 2012, p.284). Studies (e.g., Anmarkrud & Bråten, 2009; Taboada et al., 2009) of the relationship between motivational components and overall reading achievement are in line with such an idea. For example, Anmarkrud and Bråten (2009) researched the link between motivation and reading comprehension. They found that the motivational component of reading tasks was a positive predictor for reading comprehension when achievement in the domain, topic knowledge, and strategic processing were controlled. These investigations suggest that affective dimensions can provide a more holistic picture of reading development, which offers some confirmation that a greater range of factors, such as the perspectives
26 of students, are useful for a fuller understanding of successful reading experiences.
Meanwhile, it has been argued that students’ perspectives of reading, such as their awareness, attitudes, motivation and reading habits, can support the effective teaching of reading in schools in terms of engaging students (e.g., Alvermann, 2002; Gunthrie et al., 2011; Levy, 2009; McKenna et al., 2012; Wray & Medwell, 2006). Wray and Medwell (2006) researched a group of UK pupils’ perspectives on literacy teaching (the literacy hour) to demonstrate the importance of a greater understanding of students’ perceptions of literacy. They argue that ‘learners are continually involved in socially constructing the reality of their classroom experiences’ (p.205), which makes a curriculum impossible to impose on students. They suggest that that much more consideration of students’ perceptions of literacy would be needed to support better outcomes of literacy instruction. Similarly, Levy (2009) studied young children’s perceptions of reading by examining their use of literacy schemes from Nursery and Reception. It was found that young children’s perceptions of reading were shaped and influenced by the dominant literacy scheme in school which discouraged some of them from attempting to read outside of the scheme. According to the relationship between students’ perceptions of reading and their reading habits found in her study, she argues that staged reading systems should be used especially when reading has been perceived far more than the ability to read and write. It seems that students’ perceptions of literacy or reading play an important role in ensuring that teaching approaches of literacy work well.
Investigations into the perspectives of adolescents stress on the one hand the possible impacts of young people’s voices on policy and teaching (e.g., Hasley et al., 2006; Rudduck & Fielding, 2006). On the other hand such investigations may give insights into the developmental needs of adolescents especially in literacy development in the digital age (e.g., Ippolito et al., 2008; Coleman, 2011; Gee,
27 2000; 2012; Singer & Singer, 2012). There have been more advocates of more investigations into adolescents’ voices and their perspectives on literacy in recent years (e.g., Alvermann, 2002; Atkinson, 2006; Hasley et al., 2006; Melnick et al., 2009). Halsey et al. (2006) reviewed 26 research articles on the impacts of young people’s voices. Based on evidences found by reviewing those studies, they demonstrate that the voices of young people play an active and positive role in both policy and practices of teaching and the curriculum.
Young people are key stakeholders in education. The call for more consideration of adolescent literacy (e.g., Alveramnn, 2002; Blanton et al., 2007; Cassidy & Grote-Garcia, 2012) appears to echo such a concept. The changed assumptions of adolescents within the changing social and technological situation have caused some concerns about ‘the particular challenges of post primary-grade reading’ (Jacobs, 2008, p.7). The notion of a literacy ‘crisis’ among adolescents has been discussed in the USA (Jacobs, 2008; Salinger, 2011; Sulkunen, 2013) when literacy has been perceived to involve abilities to read and write, and the technological skills and awareness and beliefs to make meaning. ‘An urgent call for action’ (Sulkunen, 2013) of adolescent literacy therefore would be needed to enable adolescents to be well prepared for both post-secondary education and the workplace in a technology-rich environment.
It has been widely acknowledged that reading in the digital age is different from print reading because of the changed elements of reading discussed above. Adolescents who are regarded as the most relevant group in terms of the impact of technological changes (Coleman, 2011), are engaging in a range of textual engagements with both digital and printed texts. Moore et al. (1999) discussed that ‘adolescents entering the adult world in the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history’ (p.3). However, many students struggle as adolescents in terms of reading (e.g., Jacobs, 2008; Slavin et al., 2008). One of the causes or correlates of adolescent reading difficulties may well be
28 students’ beliefs about being a reader (Guthrie, 2008; Salinger, 2011; Yudowitch et al., 2008). It could then be speculated that the way in which adolescents interpret reading and the whole process of reading is likely to affect reading performance. Hence, explorations of what adolescents’ perceptions are regarding reading in the digital age would be useful to assist with the identification of reading difficulties and challenges. Effective teaching instruction of reading could then also be promoted.
The study of adolescents’ perceptions of reading in the digital age could broaden our understanding of adolescents’ identities in reading (McKenna et al., 2012; Moje et al., 2008; O’Brien, 2012). It has been discussed that adolescents’ reading identities are usually examined by assessing their school-based literacy performance (O’Brien et al., 2009). However, this may lead to relatively incomplete views of the reading identities of adolescents, for example students may be regarded as struggling readers although they might have positive reading identities gained through a wider range of literacy practices in out-of-school setting (ibid.) Therefore, investigations of how adolescents construct themselves as readers and their views about reading in the digital age would provide useful information towards a more holistic picture of their multiple reading identities. Inclusive and motivating teaching instruction could also be designed to enhance students’ approaches to reading if we had better understanding of what they think about reading (Pitcher et al., 2007). More importantly, the ways adolescents interpret digital reading provide a useful dimension in understanding their responses to a digital environment for reading and an expanded notion of literacy. Melnick et al. (2009) argue that the perceptions ‘that individuals possess about literacy will play a vital role in shaping their engagement with’ the process of literacy practices (p.2). It could therefore be assumed that adolescents’ perceptions of digital reading provide insights into the dynamic nature of literacy that is being updated with changing technologies within certain social and cultural contexts.
29 However, few studies of adolescents’ perceptions of reading have been conducted (Alexander & Fox, 2011; Melnick et al., 2009; Pitcher et al., 2007). Melnink et al. (2009) designed Reader Self-Perception Scales 2 to investigate students’ perceptions of reading beyond Grade 7. Similarly, Pitcher et al. (2007) also conducted a study to examine adolescents’ perceptions of reading in terms of their motivation to read by using several surveys. But neither of these was largely adopted. It is not hard to see that less is known about adolescents’ perceptions of reading in the digital age, which suggests more consideration and investigation into this area is required.
As discussed, this study will investigate how adolescents perceive digital reading in the light of their literacy practices both in and outside school settings. Therefore it is important to establish an idea of adolescents in the digital environment of reading and their literacy practices in the digital age. Meanwhile, perceptions of reading have moved beyond the ability to read and write, which suggests that it would be worthwhile to understand preferences among text formats, gender differences in reading and online reading comprehension in the digital age.