I’ve been interested in how to go about building a school-wide culture of reading since listening to Amy Hermon’s interview with Melissa Thom (School Librarians United, 2nd December 2019). It was the first time I had heard the term, but the episode was very much focussed on the context of the interpersonal relationships that need to be built between the TL and students and other school staff as opposed to the design of a physical library space.
Disclaimer: I am not currently in a teacher librarian position. The school library context I am focusing on is one I know well in a public primary school in Brisbane’s north-west, approximately thirty minutes from the CBD. It does not currently have a teacher librarian, but it does have an outstanding teacher aide who fulfils a technician role. The library building is approximately eight years old, and also houses the school’s STEM room.
The school has 288 students enrolled from Prep to Year 6. Its reading growth on NAPLAN has been close to or slightly above the national average since 2016. Their socio-economic demographic shows 48% of families in the highest quartile, well above the national average. Anecdotally, the school prides itself on being able to cater for learners with diverse social, emotional and academic needs, especially twice-exceptional students.
The school has been working on providing extension opportunities for students working above the expected level. While they have been able to establish a strong and positive culture towards taking part in pull-out extension programs, I feel the gifted and passionate young literati among the student cohort would benefit from the library being developed as a more consistent centre from which a school-wide culture of reading is spread.
When reading for enjoyment is framed as a socially-acceptable and desirable pastime, students across the cohort take part more readily (Merga and Mason, 2019) and it may follow that the wealth of informational capital held by students who read widely (Loh et. al., 2017) – or even just avidly, in areas of special interest – would enable them to gain commensurate social capital.
The curriculum-aligned outcomes achieved through designing a dynamic environment within the library for this cohort would fall under the General Capabilities of Literacy (all three elements, to varying degrees) and Personal and Social Capability (particularly Self-awareness and Social Awareness) (ACARA, 2024).
It would be hoped that through development of these capabilities academic achievement would, over time, also grow – it has been contended for many years that differentiating learning from the top level of achievement down (rather than bottom-up or from the middle out) is an effective technique for improving school-wide achievement (Stradling and Saunders, 1993).
Finally, from a different perspective, designing a library space that creates a school-wide culture of reading may include support of staff to read and be visible to students while doing so. Given that gifted students have been identified as particularly in need of mentor figures and role models to continue on their learning trajectories (Van Tassel-Baska, 2001), this may provide them with greater opportunities to connect with like-minded staff members.
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2024). General Capabilities: Literacy. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/literacy?element=1&sub-element=0
https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/teacher-resources/understand-this-general-capability/personal-and-social-capability
Hermon, Amy (2nd December 2019). Schoolwide Culture of Reading with Melissa Thom. School Librarians United Podcast. https://schoollibrariansunited.libsyn.com/schoolwide-culture-of-reading
Loh, C.E., Ellis, M., Paculdar, A., & Whan, Z.H. (2017). Building a successful reading culture through the school library: A case study of a Singapore secondary school. IFLA Journal, 43(4), 335–347.https://repository.ifla.org/bitstream/123456789/350/1/ifla-journal-43-4_2017.pdf
Merga, M.K. & Mason, S. (2019). Building a school reading culture: Teacher librarians’ perceptions of enabling and constraining factors. Australian Journal of Education, 63(2), 173-189. https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/epub/10.1177/0004944119844544
Stradling, B., & Saunders, L. (1993). Differentiation in practice: responding to the needs of all pupils. Educational Research (Windsor), 35(2), 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013188930350202
Van Tassel-Baska, J. (2001). The Talent Development Process: What We Know and What We Don’t Know. Gifted Education International, 16(1), 20-28. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1177/026142940101600105