Conversations about reading (Analysis of data from interviews with students)

Abstract

The problem of developing students' reading skills has been extensively discussed in the scientific literature. The statements are diverse—from the conviction that Bulgarian students do not read enough or do not have sufficiently developed skills, to the opposite opinion that reading has not been ignored, but the approach, patterns, and ways in which it is carried out have changed. The article presents data from a qualitative study on five group interviews, with six students participating in each. The data obtained are heterogeneous. Factors such as family environment, type of school, family reading practices have a significant impact on students' attitudes towards reading and their reading practices. Differences are observed in terms of students' motivation to read and educate themselves, in terms of the type of school, in attitudes towards reading. The data show that students do not prefer fiction, but choose short texts with more visual content associated with easy to perceive and process information.