Reading for pleasure in Secondary Schools: a systematic review of literature
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
A systematic literature review was conducted to analyse trends, approaches, and findings on reading for pleasure in secondary education between 2020 and 2025. Specialised databases (Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, Dialnet, SciELO, and EBSCO) were consulted, applying previously defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The selection process followed the PRISMA guidelines, resulting in a final corpus of 22 studies. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the QuADS and ROBIS tools. The findings indicate that research is mainly organized into five dimensions: cognitive and academic, motivational, personal and social, emotional, and cultural. In addition, factors such as school libraries, teacher mediation, institutional policies, and digital culture were found to significantly influence the development of reading for pleasure. It is concluded that, although the field shows significant progress, gaps remain in understanding the subjective experience of readers and in addressing socio-emotional benefits. The need to strengthen comprehensive approaches that recognize reading for pleasure as a key cultural practice in adolescent development is highlighted.
Article Details
DOI https://doi.org/10.18239/ocnos_2026.25.2.658
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The articles published at Ocnos will have a Creative Common Licence Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported
References
Alvermann, D. E., & Kaminski-Sanders, R. (2019). Adolescents' literacies in a digital world. En R. Hobbs & P. Mihailidis (Eds.-in-Chief), The International Encyclopedia of Media Litercy. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118978238.ieml0005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118978238.ieml0005
Arizpe, E., & Styles, M. (2016). Children reading picturebooks: Interpreting visual texts (2.a ed.). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315683911
Asplund, S., Egeland, B. L., & Olin-Scheller, C. (2024). Sharing is caring: Young people’s narratives about BookTok and volitional reading. Language and Education, 38(4), 635–651. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2324947 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2324947
Ayala-Campoverde, M., & Loyola-Illescas, E. (2025). Active methods to promote reading in high school. Innovaciones Educativas, 27(42), 107–126. https://doi.org/10.22458/ie.v27i42.5336 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22458/ie.v27i42.5336
Bamise, O. F., & Akande, S. O. (2021). Gender differences in the reading habits of secondary school students of Osun State public schools. African Educational Research Journal, 9(3), 720–727. https://doi.org/10.30918/aerj.93.21.072 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30918/AERJ.93.21.072
Barron, B. (2006). Interest and self-sustained learning as catalysts of development: A learning ecology perspective. Human Development, 49(4), 193–224. https://doi.org/10.1159/000094368 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000094368
Barton, D., & Hamilton, M. (2000). Literacy practices. En D. Barton, M. Hamilton, & R. Ivanic (Eds.), Situated literacies: Reading and writing in context (pp. 7–15). Routledge.
Bezek, G., Şevgin, H., & Kayri, M. (2023). Reviewing the factors affecting PISA reading skills by using Random Forest and MARS Methods. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 10(1), 181–196. https://doi.org/10.33200/ijcer.1192590 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33200/ijcer.1192590
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. En J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press.
CASEL. (2020). What is SEL? Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. CASEL. https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/
Collins, V. J., Dargan, I. W., Walsh, R. L., & Merga, M. K. (2022). Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of a whole-school reading for pleasure program. Issues in Educational Research, 32(1), 89–104. https://www.iier.org.au/iier32/collins.pdf
Colomer, T. (2005). Andar entre libros: La lectura literaria en la escuela. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Cremin, T., Mottram, M., Bearne, E., & Goodwin, P. (2008). Exploring teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature. Cambridge Journal of Education, 38(4), 449–464. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640802482363 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640802482363
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
Dera, J., Brouwer, S., & Welling, A. (2023). #BookTok’s appeal on ninth‐grade students: An inquiry into students’ responses on a social media revelation. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 67(2), 99–110. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1303 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1303
Dubet, F. (2010). Sociologie de l’expérience. Éditions du Seuil.
Federación de Gremios de Editores de España. (2024). Hábitos de lectura y compra de libros en España 2023. Federación de Gremios de Editores de España. https://federacioneditores.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/lectura-y-compra-de-libros-2023.pdf
Gonçalves-Da-Silva, F. (2026). Prácticas y percepciones de lectura en adolescentes y jóvenes: Estudio exploratorio, 2025. Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (OEI). https://oei.int/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/digital-oei-praucticas-y-percepciones-de-lectura-en-adolescentes-y-jouvenes-estudio-exploratorio-2025.pdf
González-Ramírez, C. (2022). Prácticas de mediación de lectura literaria en el contexto escolar chileno: El quehacer del profesor mediador. Revista Sophia Austral, 28, 13. https://doi.org/10.22352/SAUSTRAL20222813 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22352/SAUSTRAL20222813
Harrison, R., Jones, B., Gardner, P., & Lawton, R. (2021). Quality assessment with diverse studies (QuADS): An appraisal tool for methodological and reporting quality in systematic reviews of mixed- or multi-method studies. BMC Health Services Research, 21(1), 144. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06122-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06122-y
Henning, J., & Crow, S. R. (2023). Reading perceptions of intrinsically motivated high school juniors. School Libraries Worldwide, 28(2), 19–40. https://doi.org/10.29173/slw8716 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29173/slw8716
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. NYU Press.
Johansson, M. (2021). Literary socialisation through education: A comparative study of Swedish and French upper secondary school students’ reception of a narrative text. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.17239/L1ESLL-2021.21.02.03 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17239/L1ESLL-2021.21.02.03
Leu, D. J., McVerry, J. G., O’Byrne, W. I., Kiili, C., Zawilinski, L., Everett‐Cacopardo, H., Kennedy, C., & Forzani, E. (2011). The new literacies of online reading comprehension: Expanding the literacy and learning curriculum. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.55.1.1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.55.1.1
Loh, C. E. (2024). What makes adolescents want to read? Examining adolescents’ contemporary print and new media (fiction) leisure reading through mobile ethnography. Language and Education, 38(4), 596–616. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2326099 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2326099
Loh, C. E., & Binny, A. L. (2024). “I use the library sometimes just to lose myself”: School libraries supporting students’ wellbeing and flourishing. IFLA Journal, 51(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352241276840 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352241276840
McKirdy, P. (2021). Do primary school libraries affect teenagers’ attitudes towards leisure reading? IFLA Journal, 47(4), 520–530. https://doi.org/10.1177/0340035220983359 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0340035220983359
Merga, M. K. (2021a). How can BookTok on TikTok inform readers’ advisory services for young people? Library & Information Science Research, 43(2), 101091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2021.101091 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2021.101091
Merga, M. K. (2021b). The role of the library within school-level literacy policies and plans in Australia and the United Kingdom. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 54(3), 469–481. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211022410 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211022410
Merga, M. K., & Ferguson, C. (2021). School librarians supporting students’ reading for pleasure: A job description analysis. Australian Journal of Education, 65(2), 153–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944121991275 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944121991275
Merga, M. K., & Roni, S. M. (2025). “An uphill battle”: School library professionals fostering student reading engagement. English in Education, 59(1), 17–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2025.2456718 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2025.2456718
Milne, J., Boyask, R., & Jackson, J. (2023). Reading for pleasure and Te Mātaiaho: An opportunity not to be missed. Set: Research Information for Teachers, 38, 14–22.
Mora-Venegas, P. F. D., & Villanueva-Roa, J. de D. (2022). La lectura, ¿placer obligado?: Caso del colegio Villa Santa María de la Comuna de El Bosque, Santiago de Chile. Campo Abierto. Revista de Educación, 41(1), 123–136. https://doi.org/10.17398/0213-9529.41.1.123
Mullis, I. V. S., & Martin, M. O. (2021). PIRLS 2021 assessment framework. TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College. https://pirls2021.org/framework
OECD. (2019). PISA 2018 results: What students know and can do (Volume I). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/5f07c754-en DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/5f07c754-en
OECD. (2021). 21st-century readers: Developing literacy skills in a digital world. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/a83d84cb-en DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/a83d84cb-en
Reads, T. (2023). The impact of reading challenge programs on student reading for pleasure and literacy achievement. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 72(3), 313–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2212942 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2212942
Rivera-Jurado, P., & Romero-Oliva, M. F. (2020). El adolescente como lector accidental de textos literarios: Hábitos de lectura literaria en educación secundaria. Ocnos, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.18239/ocnos_2020.19.3.2313 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18239/ocnos_2020.19.3.2313
Smith, J., & Nichols, T. P. (2023). Book choice and the affective economy of literacy. Journal of Literacy Research, 55(4), 325–345. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X231200812 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X231200812
Street, B. V. (1984). Literacy in theory and practice. Cambridge University Press.
Tassone, M. (2025). Literacy assessment in the early years of schooling in an era of neoliberalism. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 25(2), 422–462. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687984231161119 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14687984231161119
UNESCO. (2006). Education for all global monitoring report 2006: Literacy for life [Report]. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000144839
UNESCO. (2016). Reading the past, writing the future: Fifty years of promoting literacy. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245409
UNESCO. (2020). Informe de seguimiento de la educación en el mundo: Inclusión y educación. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373718
UNESCO. (2021). Futures of education: Learning to become. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379707
UNESCO-OREALC. (2020). Tercer Estudio Regional Comparativo y Explicativo (TERCE): Informe regional. Oficina Regional de Educación para América Latina y el Caribe. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374812
Webber, C., Wilkinson, K., Duncan, L. G., & McGeown, S. (2024). Adolescents’ perspectives on the barriers to reading for pleasure. Literacy, 58, 204–215. https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.12359 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.12359
Whiting, P., Savović, J., Higgins, J. P. T., Caldwell, D. M., Reeves, B. C., Shea, B., Davies, P., Kleijnen, J., & Churchill, R. (2016). ROBIS: A new tool to assess risk of bias in systematic reviews was developed. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 69, 225–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2015.06.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2015.06.005
Zare, M., Kozak, S., Rodrigues, M. L., & Martin-Chang, S. (2023). The roots of reading for pleasure: Recollections of reading and current habits. Literacy, 57, 262–274. https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.12315 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.12315