The Impact of Bibliodidactics on Success in Learning to Read Among Nonnative Criminal Inmates

Abstract

The main purpose of this study, based on research conducted in two randomly selected maximum-security prisons in Israel, is to explore the effectiveness of Bibliodidactics, a unique teaching reading method. The research found Bibliodidactics significantly improves the levels of technical reading among nonnative illiterate and poor-reading prisoners of Hebrew. The method is also significantly more efficient for nonnative illiterate prisoners, both in reading comprehension and in technical reading. The authors conclude that literacy instruction for struggling readers benefits from a focus on emotional processing of text, providing meaningful contexts to learning materials that motivate and sustain the readers’ interest.