The research finds that 71% of secondary school teachers believe reading reluctance has been a growing problem for the last three years.
Notably, 82% of the teachers say that the popularity of social media has had a negative effect on willingness to read.
The YouGov research was commissioned by GL Assessment and involved more than 500 secondary school teachers. Reluctant readers are defined as students who are capable of reading but who need to be encouraged.
The findings also show that teachers think that a third (33%) of boys and 15% of girls consider being asked to read a “punishment”.
Only 17% of the teachers think that the boys in their classrooms see reading as something that is fun, while 53% say boys will always choose to read an easy book over a harder one.
The study also found that 67% of teachers say that reading progress tends to stall in key stage 3. As such, 89% want to see secondary school students learning to read for enjoyment.
Teachers are also sceptical that their teenage students are doing much reading at all outside of school hours – 86% think that most children read for less than 15 minutes a day outside of school, including 40% who believe most of the children they teach spend no time at all reading outside school.
To try and help combat the problem, the teachers in the survey said their schools have introduced additional reading time to help and encourage students with comprehension, while others said they were trying reading aloud sessions. Schools are also using reading interventions and assessments to help identify barriers to progress.
The teachers said they wanted more training, including 59% who wanted to better understand the link between oracy and reading and 61% who want training in how to develop students’ reading and vocabulary skills.
The common refrain that all teachers are teachers of reading and literacy is not echoed in the findings. While 47% said that responsibility for reading doesn’t automatically rest with the English department, 44% said that it does.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Jessie Ricketts from the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London, said: “The evidence shows that reading behaviour (how much reading is going on) feeds into attainment and vice-versa, such that there is a kind of virtuous circle with those who read often reading well.
“However, you need a certain level of attainment to enter this virtuous circle. Proficiency always comes first, and we know that many secondary students do not have the kind of proficiency that they need to enjoy and benefit from reading.
“The jump from primary to secondary school also means teachers expect students to have much higher levels of comprehension to cope with the curriculum – but this doesn’t always transpire.
“When helping students who need support with their reading, it is important to identify the nature of their reading needs, for instance it might be to do with reading words, or comprehension, or both. This will always be crucial for ensuring that any help and interventions are effective.”
Beth Morrish, director of secondary literacy and lead for professional learning at the Meridian Trust, a 31-school multi-academy trust, added: “Very few secondary teachers doubt the importance of reading when it comes to accessing the curriculum. But we can’t expect every teacher to develop a different intervention for every one of their students. This is about developing best practice that supports a range of students with different abilities.”