Strategies to Motivate Children to Engage in Leisure Reading: Qualitative Insights from Nigerian Children

Abstract

Some research done in the Western world indicates that children’s reading engagement is affected by certain factors and that children can be impacted in such a way that they will choose to engage in leisure reading. This paper, which arises from a study that explored the reading habits of a group of 9-12-year-olds in a book club in Nigeria, examines the factors that affected the reading engagement of the participants and suggests evidence-based strategies that could motivate children to engage in leisure reading. Through an interpretivist theoretical perspective, the study gathered data using the methods of collage making, observation, questionnaire, and interviews, and analysed them through inductive thematic analysis. Findings indicate that the participants read for pleasure, though their level of reading engagement differed. Findings also reveal that the reading engagement of all the participants may have been, in varying degrees, influenced by different factors such as the pedagogy of reading, access to reading materials, the reading environment, and the availability of social networks that support leisure reading. Insights from the study could guide on practices that strengthen children’s engagement in leisure reading.