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Here’s a taste of what we’re serving today:
Is Reading Really As Beneficial for Your Grades as Teachers Say? 📚
PLUS: The 19th Century Devil, Mathematical Beauty, and Building Brasília 🇧🇷
EDUCATION
Is Reading Really As Beneficial for Your Grades as Teachers Say? 📚
If you cast your mind back to your days in primary school, you might remember the emphasis and focus placed on developing your reading abilities both within school and at home. Educators and parents alike consider the quality of being “well-read” to be very important for both academic and personal development, as it encourages the acquisition of language skills, widens our vocabulary range and provides the foundation for all learning. But just how true is it that reading in our childhood can affect our outcomes later in life? In this educational scoop, we’re going to look into research evidence which provides the basis for the idea of the importance of reading!
💡 Things to consider
What are the different types of reading?: You may have noticed that you feel a difference when reading out of obligation (for example, having to read a textbook for a class in school) compared to reading for pleasure (such as reading your favourite book before bed). That is because there are actually different ways to categorise reading! Clark & Rumbold (2006, p.6) proposed that reading for pleasure could be defined as “reading that we do of our own free will, anticipating the satisfaction that we will get from the act of reading…which involves materials that reflect our own choice, at a time and place that suits us.” Essentially, reading for pleasure refers to reading that is done based on our own desires, and it is this type of reading that is important for educational attainment.
My brain when I’m reading
The academic benefits of reading for pleasure: There are a great number of research studies which demonstrate a positive correlation between reading for pleasure and academic progress. For example, Krashen (2004) outlines in his book, The Power of Reading, the notion that free voluntary reading is an important factor in influencing academic achievement, supported by a study conducted in a school environment where children who engaged in free reading consistently showed better literacy growth and reading ability. In addition to this, a longitudinal study conducted by Mulcahy et al (2019) found that individuals with higher reading ability were more likely to achieve higher qualifications and go into skilled employment in the future. Overall, research into this area suggests that reading for pleasure is key for cultivating academic skills.
The overall verdict: Having considered all this, the short answer is yes, reading does indeed have educational benefits! Beyond just improving your literacy levels, it can contribute to increased academic and career prospects, better psychological wellbeing and overall life satisfaction (as concluded by Mulcahy et al, 2019). So, why not pick up a book and get back into reading today? You never know, it might just help you out at school!
🔎 Find out more
Clark, C., & Rumbold, K. (2006). Reading for pleasure: A research overview. London. National Literacy Trust.
Krashen, S. (2004). The power of reading. Portsmouth: Heinemann and Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited.
Mulcahy, E., Bernardes, E., & Baars, S. (2019). The relationship between reading age, education and life outcomes. https://www.cfey.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/The-relationship-between-reading-age-education-and-life-outcomes.pdf
Adapted from Asiedu-Kwatchey, J. (2023). The ‘reading bug’: A reflection of the extent to which reading for pleasure is a key mechanism for cultivating reading ability and achieving academic success [Unpublished undergraduate coursework study]. University of Cambridge
🍒 The cherry on top
😈 The 19th Century Devil: Far from the horned villain of popular imagination, Romantic and post‑Romantic writers like Shelley, Byron, Blake, Goethe, Heine and Baudelaire reimagined the Devil as a witty, resourceful, and even charming figure. From rebellious poetry to philosophical doubt, this era’s Satan became a mirror for creativity, existential questioning, and the era’s hunger for intellectual freedom. A nice read if you like Literature, History, or Religious Studies.
📐 Mathematical Beauty: Can a proof generated by a computer ever make a mathematician’s heart race? This article explores the tension between rigour and elegance in modern mathematics, asking whether G.H. Hardy’s vision of ‘beautiful’ maths survives in an era of AI-assisted proofs. Great if you’re interested in Maths or Philosophy.
🇧🇷 Building Brasília: Brasília, Brazil’s bold inland capital, was built from scratch in just four years. A unique twentieth‑century experiment in urban planning, it was conceived to unite the country and drive development away from the coast. However, the city’s creation came at a steep cost, with financial strain, harsh worker conditions, and lasting environmental impacts. Today, Brasília stands both as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a symbol of ambition and sacrifice. Find out more if you’re interested in Geography or History.
👀 Keep your eyes peeled for…
Wednesday 18th March
Thursday 19th March
Monday 23rd March
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That’s it for this week! We’d like to thank this week’s writer: Jessica Asiedu-Kwatchey.
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