The results of the international PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment)
research show that reading literacy has long been a weakness among Slovenian students, as
their scores decline each year and fall below the average of OECD (Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development) member countries. Reading literacy is a skill that develops
throughout a person's life, yet classroom teachers also play a very important role in laying the
foundation for well-developed reading literacy. It is divided into nine key components that
teachers must be familiar with in order to adequately support and guide students in developing
their reading literacy. One of these components is reading motivation, which is closely linked
to reading literacy. Classroom teachers play a key role in fostering reading motivation, as they
can significantly influence students’ attitudes toward reading by using various approaches and
selecting appropriate methods, formats, and activities. While there is already a number of
studies, including international ones (PISA, PIRLS – Progress in International Reading Literacy
Study), in the field of reading literacy, there is a lack of research specifically on the role of
classroom teachers in developing reading literacy and encouraging reading motivation. The
empirical part of this master’s thesis is based on descriptive and empirical and quantitative
methods, and we used a quantitative approach for the research. We sought to determine how
and in what ways classroom teachers influence the development of reading literacy, how and
in what ways they foster reading motivation among students, and how the choice of methods
used varies among teachers. We conducted the research using an online questionnaire and
included 150 elementary school teachers in the sample who are teaching in Slovenian
elementary schools during the current school year. The results of the study showed that
elementary school teachers are strongly aware of the importance of their role in developing
reading literacy and fostering reading motivation among students in grades 1 through 5. They
also clearly recognize reading literacy as the foundation of other literacies and reading
motivation as a key factor in shaping reading habits and understanding reading as a life value.
We found that teachers use a diverse range of teaching methods, instructional forms and
activities to develop reading literacy and foster students’ reading motivation. To develop
reading literacy and promote reading motivation, they most frequently use the text-based
teaching method and the game-based method, the latter of which they rate as the most effective.
Among the most frequently used teaching formats, they ranked individual work, which they
also consider the most effective teaching format for developing reading literacy and motivating
pupils to read. Discussion of the text read was selected as the most frequently used teaching
activity for developing reading literacy, while autonomy in text selection was chosen for
promoting reading motivation. Both activities proved to be the most effective for the specific
area. The results of the study reveal that there are no statistically significant differences among
elementary school teachers regarding their choice of teaching methods, instructional forms, and
activities for developing reading literacy and promoting reading motivation, based on the grade
level they teach. The research findings provide elementary school teachers and other education
professionals with valuable insight into the current state of affairs and the importance of their
role in developing reading literacy and motivating students to read. The collected data can serve
as a starting point for further research in this field and for the development of good teaching
practices.
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