Student Teachers as Readers - The Reading Experiences and Reading Pedagogy of Finnish and British Student Teachers

Oct 15, 2026

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Teacher education programmes depend on the early life experiences of future educators, making it essential to examine the prior reading practices of student teachers. This quantitative study investigated Finnish and English student teachers’ (N = 353) own reading, how their reading shaped reading pedagogy, and how these related to teachers’ content knowledge of reading pedagogy. Findings show widespread enjoyment and positive attitudes, with own reading viewed as important, yet time constraints limit free-time reading.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Reading for pleasure and its benefits

Teachers’ knowledge, pedagogy, and social justice

Underestimation in teacher education and attitudes/habits

Goals and frameworks in teacher education

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 48 Issue 9 | Article 5 | | --- | --- | | 2023
Student Teachers as Readers: The Reading Experiences and Reading Pedagogy of Finnish and British Student Teachers
Juli-Anna AERILA
University of Turku
Merja Kauppinen University of Jyväskylä
Teresa Cremin
The Open University
Mari Siipola
University of Turku
Sarah Jane Mukherjee The Open University
Johanna Lähteelä
University of Turku
Follow this and additional works at: [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte)
Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, and the Language and Literacy Education Commons | | Recommended Citation AERILA, J., Kauppinen, M., Cremin, T., Siipola, M., Mukherjee, S. J., & Lähteelä, J. (2023) . Student Teachers as Readers: The Reading Experiences and Reading Pedagogy of Finnish and British Student Teachers. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 48(9) . [https://doi.org/10.14221/1835-517X.6555](https://doi.org/10.14221/1835-517X.6555) [This Journal Article is posted at Research Online.](This Journal Article is posted at Research Online.)[ ](This Journal Article is posted at Research Online.)[https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol48/iss9/5](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol48/iss9/5) Student Teachers as Readers: The Reading Experiences and Reading Pedagogy of Finnish and British Student Teachers Juli-Anna Aerila Merja Kauppinen University of Turku, Finland Teresa Cremin The Open University Mari Siipola University of Turku, Finland Sarah Jane Mukherjee The Open University Johanna Lähteelä University of Turku, Finland Abstract: As the pedagogy of teachers depends partly on their earlier life experiences, investigating the prior reading practices of student teachers is crucial. This study investigated Finnish and English student teachers ’ (N = 353) own reading, the importance of their own reading to their reading pedagogy, and the relationship of these to teachers ’ content knowledge of reading pedagogy. The data were collected via an online questionnaire and analysed via quantitative methods. According to the findings, nearly all the student teachers enjoy reading, have a positive attitude towards reading, and consider the teachers’ own reading important for the pedagogy they implement. However, even though a large number of the student teachers read during their free time, for many, reading represents apotential free-time activity that is valued, but for which there is no time. In the study, student teachers ’ reported free-time reading correlated with how many children ’s books the student teacher could name. In other words, it seems that the more preservice teachers engage in their own reading (time used to reading for pleasure, level of experiences for enjoying reading) the greater their knowledge ofchildren’s literature, which is an essential part of the pedagogical content knowledge of literature teaching. Teacher education programmes should find ways to individualise reading instruction for student teachers as it will simultaneously scaffold the individuality of readers in the classrooms of these future teachers. Introduction Reading for pleasure is a fundamental right of every child; it is characterised as an act of voluntary, personal satisfaction (Clark & Rumbold, 2006; Powell, 2014) . Beyond the benefits of improved reading comprehension and an expanded vocabulary, engaging in freetime reading can yield cognitive advantages (Sullivan & Brown, 2015; Torppa et al., 2019) and foster social interactions (Cremin, 2014; Rothbauer, 2004) . Teachers’ understanding of children’s literature and the pedagogy teachers implement impact young people’s motivation to engage in independent or free-time reading (Clark & Teräväinen, 2015; Cremin, 2019; Cremin et al., 2009, 2014) . While community reading progr

FAQs

What does the study focus on regarding student teachers’ reading?

It examines the student teachers’ own reading practices, the importance of their own reading for their reading pedagogy, and how these relate to their knowledge of reading pedagogy.

How was the study data collected and analysed?

Data were collected using an online questionnaire and analysed through quantitative methods.

What did the findings show about student teachers’ attitudes and habits?

Nearly all student teachers enjoy reading and have positive attitudes toward reading, and they consider their own reading important for the pedagogy they implement. Many value reading but report limited time during free time.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Kurz