Literacy attitudes, habits and achievements of future teachers

Abstract

Pre‐service teachers’ reading habits and their literacy abilities affect their views toward teaching reading and writing and how they implement literacy instruction. This study explored the relationship between the past and current reading habits of pre‐service teachers in relation to their reading and writing abilities. Participating teacher candidates completed a questionnaire regarding their reading habits, completed two reading comprehension components of the Nelson‐Denny Reading Test and provided a writing sample. Teacher candidates who received higher scores on the comprehension subtest of the Nelson‐Denny Reading Test recalled a higher degree of early school emphasis on enjoying stories and mastering reading skills, frequent childhood visits to the library, frequently being read to as a child and a higher degree of enjoyment associated with reading.