20.500.12556/RUL-178672 Reading habits of university students in Slovenia challenges and the future of reading culture The article explores the reading habits of Slovenian university students in teacher education and library science programs, comparing data from two cohorts (2017/18 versus 2024/25). Despite being future educa-tors, around 16% of these students reported not having read a single book in the past year. While a slight increase in reading frequency and English-language reading was observed over the seven-year period, the shift toward less demanding genre fiction raises concerns. Students now predominantly read lighter, popular titles, with significantly fewer individuals engaging in complex literary texts. This shift has cognitive implications: studies indicate that the reading of complex literature enhances abstract thinking and attributional complexity, which are traits of high importance for educators. The rise in English-language reading – though intellectually beneficial – may also reduce exposure to syntactically complex Slovenian texts, potentially weakening native language competence. The findings suggest a troubling disconnection between the reading behaviours expected of educators and their actual practices. As reading complexity strongly correlates with critical thinking, the lack of engagement with demanding texts may hinder the cognitive development of students and their future pedagogical effectiveness. The article concludes by emphasizing the need for higher academic standards and stronger encouragement of deep reading within teacher education programs. reading habits teacher education literary complexity attributional complexity reading literacy Slovenia bralne navade izobraževanje učiteljev literarna kompleksnost atribucijska kompleksnost bralna pismenost Slovenija true false true Angleški jezik Litvanski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-01-29 10:28:12 2026-01-29 10:28:16 2026-01-31 04:05:19 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Str. 227-245 Vol. 85 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2026-01-27 378 2345-0053 10.15388/Knygotyra.2025.85.7 266605315 Reading_habits_of_universit_students_in_Slovenija_Challenges_and_the_future_of_reading_culture.pdf Reading_habits_of_universit_students_in_Slovenija_Challenges_and_the_future_of_reading_culture.pdf 1 3C928C2889643BF52F84966D54BA7D7A 6e427ff6629f81e6f06df3eeec39fb173849429160b8a4f6e24563fb36c135e4 38d2ec3d-fcf5-11f0-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=226587 https://www.journals.vu.lt/knygotyra/en/article/view/45078/41454 1 d0c13edc-fcf4-11f0-a1ba-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=226586 Filozofska fakulteta 0 0 0