tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/reading-1536/articlesReading – La Conversation2024-02-29T13:38:58Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235332024-02-29T13:38:58Z2024-02-29T13:38:58ZHow teens benefit from being able to read ‘disturbing’ books that some want to ban<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578696/original/file-20240228-24-s5xddp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=47%2C59%2C7892%2C5190&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young readers report becoming more thoughtful after reading stories that feature characters who face complex challenges.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/student-choosing-a-book-on-library-royalty-free-image/959761242?phrase=teens+books&adppopup=true">FG Trade via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Should we worry, as <a href="https://pen.org/report/book-bans-pressure-to-censor/">massive book-banning efforts</a> imply, that young people will be harmed by certain kinds of books? For over a decade and through hundreds of interviews, my colleague, literacy professor <a href="https://www.albany.edu/education/faculty/peter-johnston">Peter Johnston</a>, and I have <a href="https://www.tcpress.com/teens-choosing-to-read-9780807768686">studied</a> how adolescents experience reading when they have unfettered access to young adult literature. Our findings suggest that many are helped rather than harmed by such reading.</p>
<p>For one study, we spent a year in a public middle school in a small, mid-Atlantic town, observing and talking to eighth grade students whose teachers, rather than assigning the “classics” or traditional academic texts, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.46">let students choose what to read</a> and gave them time to read daily in class. To support student engagement, they made available hundreds of contemporary books that are relevant to the students’ lives. The books included many of the <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a6v7R7pidO7TIwRZTIh9T6c0--QNNVufcUUrDcz2GJM/edit#gid=9827573720">titles currently being challenged</a>, according to PEN America, which is a nonprofit that advocates against censorship, among other things. The titles include Ellen Hopkins’ “<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.net/books/Identical/Ellen-Hopkins/9781416950066">Identical</a>,” Jay Asher’s “<a href="https://penguinrandomhousehighereducation.com/book/?isbn=9780451478290">Thirteen Reasons Why</a>,” Patricia McCormick’s “<a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sold">Sold</a>,” and others that were banned because of themes of sex and violence.</p>
<p>We were interested in what the students perceived to be the consequences of reading young adult literature. They tended to read books they described <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2317944">as “disturbing</a>.” At the end of the school year, we interviewed 71 of the students about changes in their reading and relationships with peers and family. </p>
<p>We also asked open-ended questions about how, if at all, they had changed as people since the beginning of the year. Beyond reading substantially more than they had previously, they reported positive changes in their social, emotional and intellectual lives that they attributed to reading, the kinds of books they read and the conversations those books provoked.</p>
<p>Here are six ways students told us they had been changed by reading and talking about edgy young adult books. </p>
<h2>1. They became more empathetic</h2>
<p>The students chose mostly fiction, with characters whose life circumstances in many cases differed from their own, including those associated with race, gender, sexuality, culture, language, mental health and household income. Because fiction <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.06.002">provides windows into the minds of others</a>, it has the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1239918">potential to improve empathy</a>, which becomes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0055341">more probable when readers get emotionally involved in stories</a>.</p>
<p>This is consistent with what the students reported. As one student explained after reading a book about a bullied character, “Like when you see people … you think, well, they don’t have problems or whatever, but then some of the ones I’ve read, you can just understand people better.”</p>
<h2>2. They improved relationships</h2>
<p>The books contained stark realities about humanity. For instance, some books dealt with how children and teens might be exploited by adults or how mental illness might radically affect a person’s behavior.</p>
<p>Students shared that as they read, they were encountering some of this information for the first time. Their initial instinct, they said, was to find someone else who had read the book and talk about it. </p>
<p>Consequently, students who rarely talked to each other came together over books. In the process, they learned about each other, became friends or at least developed greater appreciation for each other. They also talked to family members, including parents, some of whom they convinced to read the books. </p>
<p>Relationships in books made teens rethink their own relationships. “Her mom was all rude to her,” one student recalled about a character. “It kind of had me feeling bad, ‘cause I was rude to my aunt, and my situation could have been worse.” </p>
<p>Students shared that reading about characters in dire circumstances changed how they thought about their own families. For instance, several admitted that reading a book about a girl their age who was abducted and abused by an adult male made them more likely to listen to their parents’ advice about safety. Others reading that same book reported becoming more protective of siblings.</p>
<h2>3. They became more thoughtful</h2>
<p>Reading about the decisions characters made gave the teens a chance to see the potential consequences of their own future choices.</p>
<p>Some described positive characters as role models. Others described using characters who made questionable decisions as cautionary tales and tools of self-reflection. </p>
<p>Statements such as one student’s comment that “I have changed because I think more about things before I do them” were common and were related to problems teens were already facing or could see on the horizon. These problems included toxic relationships, substance abuse, gang-related activity and risky sexual behaviors. </p>
<h2>4. They were happier</h2>
<p>Despite the fact that many students chose books with serious and unsettling content, students claimed reading made them feel better.</p>
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<img alt="A girl lies on her back on a bench reading a book that she is holding." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578709/original/file-20240228-26-6snxit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578709/original/file-20240228-26-6snxit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578709/original/file-20240228-26-6snxit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578709/original/file-20240228-26-6snxit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578709/original/file-20240228-26-6snxit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578709/original/file-20240228-26-6snxit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578709/original/file-20240228-26-6snxit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Teens say reading books can boost their mood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenage-girl-reading-book-outdoors-royalty-free-image/1223187399?phrase=teens+books&adppopup=true">Westend61 via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Some explicitly attested to the pleasure of reading. “It’s the happiest I’ll get,” one student stated about the time she spent with the books.</p>
<p>More frequently, students described how mental trips through books helped them reconsider their own worries compared with characters with much harder lives.</p>
<p>“You do get an appreciation for what you do have, and, like, for being thankful for the happiness and joy in your life,” one explained. “Some of those books, it’s crazy what’s in there.”</p>
<h2>5. Books helped students heal</h2>
<p>Some students reported that books helped them heal from depression and grief.</p>
<p>“When I was younger, I lost my best friend,” one student shared after reading about a character whose mother died. “It was really hard for me, but books like that really take me back and help me remember her but without getting really upset.” </p>
<p>Many pointed to good feelings they got from meaningful book conversations with peers. That is not surprising given the link between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-007-9083-0">positive social relationships and young people’s happiness</a>.</p>
<h2>6. They became better readers</h2>
<p>Some of the books were difficult for students to read, but they persisted even though they had to work harder to understand them. Other research has found that this persistence is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2010.481503">related to the interest</a> that students had in the subjects of the books.</p>
<p>Students reported rereading large chunks of books or even entire books to clear up confusion about storylines, and asking teachers and peers for help with problems such as unfamiliar vocabulary. Their scores on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.46">end-of-year reading tests improved</a>, whereas scores for other students remained flat. That is not surprising, since the students in our study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.404">read so much</a>. Also, they read mainly fiction, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3498">which is correlated with better reading skills</a> compared with other genres.</p>
<p>Students said they started visiting public libraries and bookstores. Declarations like “I’m a bookworm now” suggested they began viewing themselves as readers. They also reported larger changes. “I think I got smarter,” one student remarked. </p>
<p>The positive transformations reported by students we interviewed cannot be generalized, but experimentally controlled studies yield related findings. For instance, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101216">adolescents who read and talk to each other</a> about stories with social themes report greater motivation to read, greater use of reading strategies, such as rereading what they don’t understand, and insight into human nature than those who do not.</p>
<p>Our research left us reflecting on why we want young people to read in the first place. Do we want them to reap the social, emotional, moral and academic benefits that reading confers? If so, preserving their access to relevant books – even the “disturbing” ones – matters a lot.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223533/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gay Ivey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Amid calls to ban certain books from libraries and schools, research shows that students benefit when they have the ability to choose which materials they want to read.Gay Ivey, Professor of Literacy, University of North Carolina – GreensboroLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2244142024-02-26T15:37:54Z2024-02-26T15:37:54ZFive books to read if you fell in love with One Day<p>David Nicholls’s One Day is a poignant, witty depiction of love delayed, found, lost and mourned. It charts the fortunes of mismatched lovers Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley, and explores the joys and sorrows of true love. One Day is a bittersweet evocation of love’s transformative power. </p>
<p>The book was recently adapted by Netflix into a 14-part series. Starring Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall, it has had more than <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13104277/Netflix-one-day-views-launching-fans-kim-kardashian-leo-woodall-ambika-mod.html#:%7E:text=One%20Day%20has%20been%20watched,are%20predicted%20to%20continue%20rising.">15 million views</a>. </p>
<p>If you fell in love with Dexter and Emma and are looking for stories that have a similar feel, here are five books you should read. </p>
<h2>1. <a href="https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/david-nicholls/starter-for-ten/9781844563241/">Starter for Ten by David Nicholls</a> (Sceptre, 2004)</h2>
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<p>This is David Nicholls’ first book, a witty campus novel which explores the issue of class and insecurity. </p>
<p>Clever, working class student Brian Jackson, an obsessive collector of general knowledge, lands a place on a team for TV quiz show University Challenge and falls for posh team mate Alice Harbinson, with comically disastrous consequences. </p>
<p>Brian is from a one-parent family in Southend-on-Sea in Essex and his mother works in Woolworths (the high street retail chain that collapsed in the UK in 2008). He is desperate – too desperate – to impress the in-crowd at his prestigious university, particularly cool-girl Alice. </p>
<p>The set piece in which he ends up naked in her parents’ kitchen is brilliantly funny. While the overall mood is lighter than One Day, there are some acute observations about class conflict and aspiration. </p>
<h2>2. <a href="https://www.virago.co.uk/titles/nora-ephron/heartburn/9780349017358/">Heartburn by Nora Ephron</a> (Alfred A. Knopf, 1983)</h2>
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<img alt="Book cover featuring abstract design of rings and cutlery." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577928/original/file-20240226-20-kcakb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577928/original/file-20240226-20-kcakb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577928/original/file-20240226-20-kcakb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577928/original/file-20240226-20-kcakb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577928/original/file-20240226-20-kcakb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577928/original/file-20240226-20-kcakb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577928/original/file-20240226-20-kcakb7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Virago</span></span>
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<p>Celebrated for her journalism and screenwriting, Ephron wrote just one novel and it’s a modern classic. The story is based on her painful divorce from renowned Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein, who left her while she was pregnant with their second child. </p>
<p>Ephron’s takedown set the tone for other divorce novels, including Olivia Goldmsmith’s best-seller The First Wives’ Club (Poseidon Press, 1992), but few writers can match her wit. A roman-a-clef (a fictionalisation of real-life events) with thinly disguised characters, the novel spares no one.</p>
<p>The errant husband is “capable of having sex with a venetian blind,” while his mistress has “a neck as long as an arm and a nose as long as a thumb and you should see her legs, never mind her feet, which are sort of splayed”. The ultimate revenge novel, and an enactment of Ephron’s mantra, “Everything is copy.”</p>
<h2>3. <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/55149/anybody-out-there-by-keyes-marian/9780241958469">Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes</a> (Poolbeg Press, 2006)</h2>
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<img alt="Book cover with a small yellow taxi at bottom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577929/original/file-20240226-28-aeay99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577929/original/file-20240226-28-aeay99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577929/original/file-20240226-28-aeay99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577929/original/file-20240226-28-aeay99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577929/original/file-20240226-28-aeay99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577929/original/file-20240226-28-aeay99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577929/original/file-20240226-28-aeay99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Penguin</span></span>
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<p>Dubliner Anna Walsh has the perfect life in New York: living in a swish apartment with her gorgeous husband Aidan and doing “The Best Job In The World.” So what is she doing convalescing in her parents’ “good front room” in the Dublin suburbs, and why isn’t Aidan with her? When she returns to Manhattan she sees him everywhere – walking down the street, passing by in a bus – but he won’t return her calls or emails. </p>
<p>This is a heart-rending book about loss, and the novel’s twist, when it comes, is deeply moving. Keyes is a fearless, funny writer who draws on her own experiences to devastating effect and this book is one of her best.</p>
<h2>4. <a href="https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/really-good-actually-monica-heisey?variant=40271601303630">Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey</a> (Fourth Estate, 2023)</h2>
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<img alt="Book cover featuring a close up of a woman with red hair and blue eyes who has smudged eye make up from crying." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577931/original/file-20240226-30-psaujb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577931/original/file-20240226-30-psaujb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577931/original/file-20240226-30-psaujb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577931/original/file-20240226-30-psaujb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577931/original/file-20240226-30-psaujb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577931/original/file-20240226-30-psaujb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577931/original/file-20240226-30-psaujb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>When Maggie breaks up with her husband Jon, people are quick to offer advice about getting over the separation: online dating, therapy and even “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-philosophy-behind-the-japanese-art-form-of-kintsugi-can-help-us-navigate-failure-193487">kintsugi</a>” – the Japanese art of mending pottery visibly, treating breakage and repair as part of the history of an object instead of trying to hide it. Even so, moving on isn’t easy. </p>
<p>Maggie wonders if her marriage ended because she was cruel, or ate in bed, or because her ex liked electronic music and difficult films about men in nature – passions she did not share. In the chaos of life after the divorce, Maggie questions everything, from why we still get married to how many 4am delivery burgers she needs to eat to make her happy. </p>
<h2>5. <a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/products/persuasion-by-jane-austen">Persuasion by Jane Austen</a> (John Murray, 1818)</h2>
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<img alt="Book cover featuring feathers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577932/original/file-20240226-30-zhfds0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577932/original/file-20240226-30-zhfds0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=938&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577932/original/file-20240226-30-zhfds0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=938&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577932/original/file-20240226-30-zhfds0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=938&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577932/original/file-20240226-30-zhfds0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1178&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577932/original/file-20240226-30-zhfds0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1178&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577932/original/file-20240226-30-zhfds0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1178&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Austen’s earlier novels, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, might be more obviously funny, but the autumnal mood of Persuasion is offset by Austen’s brilliant wit. At 27 (which was considered old for a woman to be single in Austen’s time), Anne Elliot is thought to have lost her youthful bloom and is living in impoverished circumstances with her father and sister, who are obsessed with looks and status. </p>
<p>Her great regret is that she refused to marry the dashing Captain Frederick Wentworth many years before, having been persuaded that his prospects were too limited. When they meet again, there is a chance to recapture that lost love, but she fears it is too late. </p>
<p>Like One Day, this is an examination of love delayed, though with a happier outcome. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224414/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally O'Reilly does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you fell in love with Dexter and Emma you are sure to do the same with the characters in these funny and moving tales of love.Sally O'Reilly, Honorary Associate in Creative Writing, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228462024-02-12T19:04:31Z2024-02-12T19:04:31ZChanges are coming to Ontario’s kindergarten program — what parents and caregivers need to know<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574435/original/file-20240208-24-5pusnq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C592%2C4927%2C2697&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Back to basics' language used by the government distracts from the importance of continuously updating and revising curriculum. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce recently announced Ontario’s full-day kindergarten program is undergoing an <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/ontario-announces-overhaul-of-kindergarten-curriculum-1.6738400">“overhaul” which will help “to create more systemic approaches to reading instruction and the introduction, in a very basic way, of mathematical skills and numeracy skills</a>.”</p>
<p>What do these proposed changes mean for educators, parents and children? </p>
<p>The proposed revisions must be considered and understood in the context of 1) <a href="https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/kindergarten">the current full-day play-based kindergarten curriculum</a>, and 2) <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report">recommendations and research that emerged from Ontario’s Right to Read report</a>, released in February 2022, stemming from an inquiry of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC). </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/Right%20to%20Read%20Executive%20Summary_OHRC%20English_0.pdf">Right to Read inquiry</a> revealed Ontario’s public education system was not using evidence-based approaches to teach children with reading disabilities (and others) how to read. The education minister also said curricular updates are in keeping with <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/right-to-read-inquiry-report-literacy-ontario-1.6378408">the Right to Read report’s recommendations</a>.</p>
<p>While the province says kindergarten updates will be <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1004097/ontario-unveils-a-back-to-basics-kindergarten-curriculum">combined with “hands-on and play-based learning</a>” there are concerns that play-based aspects of the curriculum — also grounded in <a href="https://theconversation.com/full-day-kindergarten-the-best-of-what-we-imagined-is-happening-in-classrooms-112602">evidence-based approaches to child development</a> — could be impacted by curricular revisions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child seen holding a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574439/original/file-20240208-18-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574439/original/file-20240208-18-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574439/original/file-20240208-18-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574439/original/file-20240208-18-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574439/original/file-20240208-18-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574439/original/file-20240208-18-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574439/original/file-20240208-18-9w9ojl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Curricular updates are in keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read report recommendations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Piqsels)</span></span>
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<h2>Teaching reading isn’t basic</h2>
<p>The “back to basics” language used in the province’s kindergarten announcement is intentionally and strategically tied to Premier Doug Ford’s promise in his <a href="https://ontariopc.ca/">election campaign</a> and is a slogan that Ford (and his team) have <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/premier-doug-ford-says-education-is-going-back-to-the-basics/article_50d11e2c-871b-5818-9c8d-c4aa33b6bc47.html">continued to use since becoming premier</a>. </p>
<p>It is not surprising that this political strategy is being used to market updates to the kindergarten program. </p>
<p>However, this language distracts from the importance of continuously updating and revising curriculum across the kindergarten to Grade 12 education sector. </p>
<p>It’s also important to note that the phrase “basics” is contradictory to what we know about the science of reading: teaching reading is anything but basic and <a href="https://www.aft.org/ae/summer2020/moats">involves understanding reading psychology and development, understanding language structure, applying evidence-based practices and using validated and reliable assessments to inform teaching</a>. </p>
<h2>Ontario’s full-day play-based kindergarten</h2>
<p>The current kindergarten curriculum has been in effect following a 2010 public policy shift. <a href="https://childcarecanada.org/resources/issue-files/resources/issue-files/resources/issue-files/resources/issue-files/resources">Based on recommendations from Ontario’s special advisor on early learning</a>, <a href="https://www.hdsb.ca/Documents/FDK-Parent-Fact-Sheet.pdf">in 2010 Ontario</a> began phasing in full-day play-based kindergarten for all four- and five-year old children. </p>
<p>This shift was also informed by <a href="https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/home/sites/default/files/2023-10/6-2014_-_ontario_s_full-day_kindergarten_a_bold_public_policy_initiative.pdf">interviews, focus groups and published scientific research on early learning</a>.</p>
<p>Essential to the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/kindergarten-program-2016">revised kindergarten program</a> was the play-based structure of the full-day program. So was the delivery of the model by a <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-team-approach-makes-full-day-kindergarten-a-success-113339">teaching team</a> of an Ontario certified teacher and a registered early childhood educator. </p>
<p>Decisions to revise the earlier half-day kindergarten program acknowledged and leveraged research on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/kindergarten-scrapbooks-arent-just-your-childs-keepsake-theyre-central-to-learning-117066">value of play</a> and its role in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3097">supporting academic, social and emotional development</a>. </p>
<p>It is important to note that <a href="https://files.ontario.ca/books/edu_the_kindergarten_program_english_aoda_web_oct7.pdf">misconceptions exist about play-based learning</a>, including the belief that play-based learning means letting children do whatever they want. Evidence-based play-based learning <a href="https://files.ontario.ca/books/edu_the_kindergarten_program_english_aoda_web_oct7.pdf">“…involves educators being deliberate and purposeful in creating play-based learning environments</a>.” </p>
<p>Furthermore, play is a basic human right of all children as recognized in the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child">United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child</a>. The revised play-based model in Ontario had (and continues to have) both empirical and philosophical grounds.</p>
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<img alt="An educator seen at a table with children with musical instruments." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574443/original/file-20240208-22-4mox38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574443/original/file-20240208-22-4mox38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574443/original/file-20240208-22-4mox38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574443/original/file-20240208-22-4mox38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574443/original/file-20240208-22-4mox38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574443/original/file-20240208-22-4mox38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574443/original/file-20240208-22-4mox38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Educators are involved in the purposeful creation of play-based learning environments.‘</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>The OHRC Right to Read report</h2>
<p>Changes to the above model are now being made in response to recommendations from the Right to Read inquiry. </p>
<p>The inquiry’s report includes 157 recommendations directly tied to addressing systemic issues affecting children’s right to read. These <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/appendix-1-list-recommendations">involve changes to curriculum, instruction and interventions and screening and assessments</a> related to reading. The recommendations for curriculum and instruction focus on the need for evidence-based direct and explicit instruction. </p>
<p>These recommendations were made based on the <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/executive-summary">most up-to-date research on reading, lived experiences of students, families and educators and informed by expertise in the area of human rights</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reading-disabilities-are-a-human-rights-issue-saskatchewan-joins-calls-to-address-barriers-214129">Reading disabilities are a human rights issue — Saskatchewan joins calls to address barriers</a>
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<p>The Right to Read report states: “Implementing the OHRC’s recommendations will ensure more equitable opportunities and outcomes for students in Ontario’s public education system.”</p>
<p>In keeping with prior revisions to the Ontario Kindergarten program, current plans to update kindergarten curriculum are being made based on empirical and philosophical grounds.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iney0cEpx24?wmode=transparent&start=13" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Video from the Right to Read inquiry.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Not an either/or conversation</h2>
<p>As revisions to Ontario’s kindergarten curriculum unfold, stakeholders need to ensure the best scientific research in both play-based learning and early reading are leveraged to ensure the success of all young children. </p>
<p>The beauty is that play-based learning is not an all-or-nothing approach. Drawing on the benefits of playful learning and using these strategies in combination with evidence-based direct instructional practices in kindergarten will be essential to successfully integrating proposed revisions. </p>
<p>There are many educators in Ontario who already offer meaningful play-based learning opportunities and direct and systematic instruction in their classrooms. </p>
<p>This is evidenced in research published in 2016 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2016.1220771">by early childhood researchers Angela Pyle and Erica Danniels</a> and also in follow-up research by Pyle and colleagues in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0852-Z">2018</a> which focused on how play and literacy interface in full-day kindergarten classrooms. </p>
<p>My current research in kindergarten classrooms, to be published later this year, examines how educators use a range of approaches (including teacher-directed play) to support children’s literacy and self-regulation outcomes. This research has, to date, also documented kindergarten educators using systematic instruction in combination with play-based learning.</p>
<h2>Educators need development, resources</h2>
<p>What’s needed is to ensure kindergarten educators are being provided with training and professional development to effectively lead classrooms utilizing both play-based learning and systematic instruction in reading, writing and math. This task is anything from basic — but is 100 per cent possible and necessary. </p>
<p>As curricular revisions are made, we must ask: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Who are the stakeholders that are being invited to make the revisions to the curriculum? </p></li>
<li><p>Who is missing from the conversations? </p></li>
<li><p>What research is being used? </p></li>
<li><p>What type of training will be provided to educators? </p></li>
<li><p>Will this training include a focus on what it means to teach in evidence-based ways — and how to do so? </p></li>
<li><p>Will policymakers consider class size and sufficient resourcing for teachers so all students have the classroom supports required to ensure these changes will have real impact?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>In updating a curriculum, we cannot merely add additional content for educators to cover each day. </p>
<p>Instead, we need to consider what these changes mean and how we can best support educators in successfully supporting children’s learning — through both play-based learning and direct instruction.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222846/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristy Timmons received funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at Queen's University, an Ontario Certified Teacher, and a Registered Early Childhood Educator. </span></em></p>We need to ensure the best scientific research in play-based learning and early reading is leveraged, and teachers receive supports to meet children’s developmental and academic needs.Kristy Timmons, Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2231802024-02-11T10:09:01Z2024-02-11T10:09:01ZIf we want more Australian students to learn to read, we need regular testing in the early primary years<p>When you send your child to school, you expect they will learn how to read. But according to 2023 NAPLAN results, about <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-23/one-in-three-students-not-meeting-naplan-standards/102756262">one-third</a> of Australian school students can’t read at their grade level.</p>
<p>For Indigenous students, students from disadvantaged families, and students in regional and rural areas, it’s more than half.</p>
<p>This is deeply troubling. When children do not learn to read fluently and efficiently in early primary school, it can <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/reading-guarantee/">undermine</a> their future learning across all subject areas, harm their self-esteem, and limit their life chances. </p>
<p>Our new Grattan Institute report, <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/reading-guarantee/">The Reading Guarantee</a>, outlines a strategy to ensure at least 90% of Australian school students are proficient readers.</p>
<p>This includes measures such as more support for lower-performing schools, coaching and building teachers’ expertise. On top of these, a key part of the strategy is that all schools regularly assess students’ reading progress and provide additional catch-up support – either in small groups or one-on-one – to those who are falling behind. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-do-kids-learn-to-read-how-do-you-know-if-your-child-is-falling-behind-214154">When do kids learn to read? How do you know if your child is falling behind?</a>
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<h2>Struggling students need early support</h2>
<p>As previous Grattan Institute <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tackling-under-achievement-Grattan-report.pdf">research</a> shows, struggling students need early support so they do not fall even further behind.</p>
<p>Developing foundational reading skills, like decoding (the ability to sound out unfamiliar words on a page), are vital for students’ later reading success. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4134909/#:%7E:text=Although%20poor%20reading%20comprehension%20certainly,that%20are%20general%20to%20language">2014 study</a> of more than 400,000 students in Years 1, 2, and 3 found if a students’ decoding and vocabulary skills developed normally, fewer than 1% of students had problems with reading comprehension later on. </p>
<p>A focus on these early reading sub-skills is also more likely to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/desc.13325">instil a love of reading</a> in students.</p>
<p>If students don’t master reading in early primary school, they may struggle with the reading demands of subjects such as biology and history in high school.</p>
<p><iframe id="pSPf5" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/pSPf5/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Tests can help</h2>
<p>The earlier we assess students’ reading skills, the better, so struggling students can be supported to catch-up. For example, a 2017 <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-13234-001">US study</a> of nearly 200 students found Year 1 and Year 2 students receiving additional help to catch up on their word reading progressed twice as fast as students who didn’t receive this help until Year 3.</p>
<p>The choice of assessment matters too – they need to be quick to administer and give teachers useful information. They should tell teachers what specific areas of reading students are struggling in, so support can be well targeted. </p>
<p>One example of this is The University of Oregon-developed <a href="https://dibels.uoregon.edu">DIBELS</a> (the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). This has six short assessments of about one minute each of different reading sub-skills, such as “phonemic awareness” (identifying speech sounds in spoken language) and “reading fluency” (how quickly and accurately a child reads with the right expression). It also has benchmarks for the beginning, middle and end of the year. </p>
<p>Most Australian state and territory education departments mandate some specific early reading assessment tools and make recommendations about other assessments to use. But our report argues they are not necessarily recommending effective tests and they do not always provide the information teachers need to monitor reading progress.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/some-kids-with-reading-difficulties-can-also-have-reading-anxiety-what-can-parents-do-215438">Some kids with reading difficulties can also have reading anxiety – what can parents do?</a>
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<h2>We need a national Year 1 Phonics Screening check</h2>
<p>There should be a nationally consistent <a href="https://www.literacyhub.edu.au/plan-teach-and-assess/year-1-phonics-check/">Year 1 Phonics Screening Check</a> to provide governments with a useful “health check” on early reading performance across states. The test was <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368290/phonics_2011_technical_report.pdf">developed</a> in the United Kingdom where it has been mandated for government schools since 2012. </p>
<p>It is also currently mandated in Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia. </p>
<p>Phonics is not the only important reading skill students should master in early primary school. But having a test focusing on phonics acknowledges how the ability to accurately decode words is a <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/646220f3427e41000cb43766/PIRLS_2021_-_national_report_for_England__May_2023.pdf">good predictor</a> of students’ future reading achievement. </p>
<p>This test assesses students’ decoding skills across 40 real and made-up words (such as “lig”) of increasing complexity. It takes about seven minutes to complete per student. By assessing 40 words, it can identify the letter-sound combinations a student is struggling with. </p>
<p>Parents would then get a report on their child’s results and aggregate results would also be published at the state and sector levels. </p>
<p><iframe id="XldSv" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/XldSv/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>We should also be assessing students at other times</h2>
<p>The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check will tell governments how students are tracking on phonics. But schools should also be regularly tracking students’ progress on reading. </p>
<p>Governments should require all schools to assess students’ reading skills (using robust assessments such as DIBELS) at least twice a year from the first year of school to Year 2 and on entry into high school. This would identify students who may not have learnt necessary reading skills in primary school.</p>
<p>Governments should also provide clearer guidelines about which assessment tools are effective. And they should provide guidance on when assessments should be done and advice on what to do with the results. </p>
<p>The alternative is we keep going with a “wait-to-fail” approach, which lets too many students fall through the cracks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments, $4 million from BHP Billiton, and $1 million from NAB. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and contribute to funding Grattan Institute's activities. Grattan Institute also receives funding from corporates, foundations, and individuals to support its general activities as disclosed on its website.</span></em></p>A new Grattan Institute report provides a plan to ensure at least 90% of Australian school students can read well.Anika Stobart, Senior Associate, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2211242024-01-24T13:29:05Z2024-01-24T13:29:05ZLearning to read in another language is tough: how Namibian teachers can help kids<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569258/original/file-20240115-27-so2q98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wolfgang Kaehler/Avalon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a classroom in Namibia’s northern Oshikoto region, a teacher has written English vocabulary words on the chalkboard. She asks her learners to read them aloud. When they stumble with pronunciation, she corrects them. She also helps the youngsters to sound out words. At another school nearby, an English teacher is showing her class cartoon strips on her cellphone to help them create mental images while reading – an approach that’s proven to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0033688220943250">enhance comprehension</a>.</p>
<p>These teachers were part of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09500782.2023.2292597">a study</a> we conducted to understand the unique knowledge and skills that Namibian teachers have developed to teach English reading comprehension to grade 7s (who are on average 12 years old) in a diverse linguistic context. The learners’ home languages were primarily Oshiwambo, Oshindonga, Afrikaans and Otjiherero. </p>
<p>We aimed to shed light on what approaches the teachers used in their classrooms. We also wanted to explore the broader implications for Namibia’s education landscape.</p>
<p>We found that Namibian teachers had the skills to equip learners with the tools to become literate and fluent in English. In some situations the teachers tried to adapt their instruction to better reflect learners’ daily experiences and cultures. But this adaptation happened on the spur of the moment rather than being central to planned lessons.</p>
<p>We argue that using culturally appropriate, relevant examples should be a deliberate daily practice. For example, teachers could select a text or passage or story that incorporates traditions, folklore, or contemporary situations relevant to the students. </p>
<p>This would increase engagement. It would also allow students to connect more deeply with the material, fostering better comprehension by being familiar and relatable. It’s an approach has been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19404476.2021.1959832">repeatedly proven</a> to <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1034914.pdf">boost</a> reading comprehension.</p>
<p>Recent studies <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/16073614.2023.2226175">show</a> that Namibian children have <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-26250-0_21">low proficiency</a> in English. Literacy is <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/literacy/need-know">a fundamental skill</a> for personal development and societal progress.</p>
<h2>Different cultural contexts</h2>
<p>The mismatch between imported educational approaches and the realities faced by English language learners in the global south has been <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-26250-0_19">identified</a> as contributing to the struggles encountered in reading comprehension. </p>
<p>In Namibia, English (although it is the country’s official language) is spoken by <a href="https://biodiversity.org.na/NamLanguages.php">only 3.4% of the population</a> as a first language or mother tongue. There are 13 <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/weng.12493">recognised languages in Namibia</a>; <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/weng.12493">Oshiwambo</a> is the most prevalent first language, including in the Oshikoto region. </p>
<p>Since 2009 the Namibian Ministry of Education has administered the National Standardised Achievement Test for grades 5 and 7. This covers English, mathematics, natural science and health education. It gauges learners’ English comprehension competency and overall performance in these subjects. The results are worrying. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1411036">In 2015 the results</a> showed that 87% of grade 7 learners scored below basic proficiency in English. The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality also found that the country <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1411036">did not exhibit significant improvements</a> in reading and mathematical literacy between 2005 and 2010. Its reading proficiency score in 2010 was 496.9 compared to a mean score of 511.8 for all <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1411036">15 participating countries</a>. </p>
<h2>Our study</h2>
<p>The study involved five experienced grade 7 English teachers. All had taught the subject for five years or longer. The teachers were each affiliated with one of four combined schools in the northern Oshikoto region of Namibia, and one primary school in Windhoek, the capital city. </p>
<p>All are state schools and learners are not required to pay fees. </p>
<p>Through stimulated recall interviews and classroom observations, we gained an understanding of the teaching practices used. Stimulated recall interviews are a way of talking with people about their past experiences or actions. It’s like watching a replay of something you did, and then being asked questions about what you were thinking or feeling during that time. It helps to better understand why people make certain choices or decisions. </p>
<p>We also conducted classroom observations, quietly sitting in to watch what teachers and learners were doing. We examined the learners’ comprehension by observing how actively they participated in question and answer sessions, collaborative activities, and retelling and summary tasks.</p>
<p>The findings reveal that teachers continue to use teaching and learning practices acquired during their initial teacher education. These included previewing, reading aloud, fluency training and vocabulary development. </p>
<p>Previewing happens when teachers ask learners to take a quick look over the title, headings and pictures to get an idea of what the reading is about. It helps the learners understand what to expect and makes reading a lot easier because they already have some clues about what is coming up. </p>
<p>Reading aloud helps learners hear the words and understand them better. It is a fun way to enjoy a test or share something interesting with others. Fluency training involves practising reading smoothly and easily. And vocabulary development is learning to read words smoothly without stumbling or pausing too much. </p>
<p>The teachers’ practices were pedagogically sound. But that doesn’t guarantee improved reading comprehension for learners without sensitivity to the lived experiences and the imagined future of the learners. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-to-read-is-a-journey-a-study-identifies-where-south-african-kids-go-off-track-206242">Learning to read is a journey: a study identifies where South African kids go off track</a>
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<p>The teachers did not often adapt their practices to suit their specific cultural and linguistic contexts. Most of the reading material used didn’t contain examples learners could relate to from their own daily lives. In the few instances where there was link to a learner’s background, it was made on the spur of the moment, in response to the way a lesson was progressing or stalling. </p>
<h2>Teacher training</h2>
<p>We concluded that much more intentional use of relevant material is needed to integrate learners’ prior knowledge of the world into their reading comprehension.</p>
<p>For this to happen initial teacher education programmes need to be enhanced to ensure that teachers are equipped with skills to adapt pedagogical practices to diverse cultural and linguistic contexts. Many teacher education institutions prepare educators as if they will be teaching in well-resourced urban schools, assuming learners are eager to learn, and the school community supports enhanced reading. The reality is quite different: teachers deal with crowded classrooms and don’t get much support from schools to meet learning goals.</p>
<p>To enhance reading comprehension in primary schools within diverse cultural and linguistic contexts, teachers can begin by selecting reading material and resources that reflects the cultural diversity of their students, making the content more relatable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221124/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The teachers did not often adapt their practices to suit their specific cultural and linguistic contexts.Marta Ndakalako Alumbungu, PhD student, Stellenbosch UniversityNhlanhla Mpofu, Chair- Curriculum Studies, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2206322024-01-12T13:28:57Z2024-01-12T13:28:57ZGen Z and millennials have an unlikely love affair with their local libraries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568487/original/file-20240109-27-hil6q2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Libraries can be an oasis from doomscrolling and information overload.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/NYC_Public_Library_Research_Room_Jan_2006-1-_3.jpg">Diliff/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568935/original/file-20240111-27-544ldb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568935/original/file-20240111-27-544ldb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568935/original/file-20240111-27-544ldb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568935/original/file-20240111-27-544ldb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568935/original/file-20240111-27-544ldb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568935/original/file-20240111-27-544ldb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568935/original/file-20240111-27-544ldb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>A phone fixation may seem at odds with an attraction to books. But the latter may offer a much-needed reprieve from the former.</p>
<p><a href="https://shorturl.at/FQS26">In our recent study of American Gen Z and millennials</a>, we discovered that 92% of them check social media daily; 25% of them check multiple times per hour.</p>
<p>Yet in that same nationally representative study, we also found that Gen Z and millennials are still visiting libraries at a healthy clip, with 54% of Gen Zers and millennials trekking to their local library in 2022. </p>
<p>Our findings reinforce 2017 data from the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/06/21/millennials-are-the-most-likely-generation-of-americans-to-use-public-libraries/">Pew Research Center</a>, which showed that 53% of millennials had gone to their local library over the previous 12 months. By comparison, that same study found that 45% of Gen Xers and 43% of baby boomers visited public libraries.</p>
<p>So why might Gen Z and millennials – sometimes characterized as <a href="https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/gen-z-has-1-second-attention-span-work-marketers-advantage">attention-addled</a> <a href="https://qz.com/quartzy/1748191/how-millennials-became-a-generation-of-homebodies">homebodies</a> – still see value in trips to the public library?</p>
<h2>A preference for print</h2>
<p>We found that Gen Zers and millennials prefer books in print over e-books and audiobooks, even though their other favorite reading formats are decidedly digital, such as video game chats and <a href="https://medium.com/fiction-friends/whats-a-web-novel-and-why-should-you-be-excited-about-them-1181ae02be3b">web novels</a>. American Gen Zers and millennials read an average of two print books per month – nearly double the average for e-books or audiobooks, according to our data.</p>
<p>The preference for print also manifests itself in the types of books Gen Z and millennials are borrowing and buying: 59% said they prefer the same story in graphical or manga format than in text only. </p>
<p>And while some graphic novels, comics and manga can be read on a screen, print is where these intricately illustrated books truly shine. </p>
<h2>Beyond reading</h2>
<p>We were most surprised by our finding that 23% of Gen Zers and millennials who don’t identify as readers nonetheless visited a physical library in the past 12 months. </p>
<p>It’s a reminder that libraries <a href="https://ischool.syr.edu/12-things-you-can-get-at-libraries-other-than-books/">don’t just serve as a repository for books</a>. Patrons can record podcasts, make music, craft with friends or play video games. There are also quiet spaces with free Wi-Fi, perfect for students or people who work remotely. </p>
<p>Younger generations tend to be more <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/topics/talent/recruiting-gen-z-and-millennials.html">values driven</a> than older ones, and libraries’ ethos of sharing seems to resonate with Gen Zers and millennials – as does a space that’s free from the insipid creep of commercialism. At the library, there are no ads and no fees – well, provided you return your books on time – and no cookies tracking and selling your behavior.</p>
<p>U.S. census data also shows that <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/new-2020-census-data-shows-an-aging-america-and-wide-racial-gaps-between-generations">younger generations are more racially diverse</a> than older generations. </p>
<p>Our survey found that 64% of Black Gen Zers and millennials visited physical libraries in 2022, a rate that’s 10 percentage points higher than the general population. Meanwhile, Asian and Latino Gen Zers and millennials were more likely than the general population to say that browsing library shelves was a preferred way to discover new books.</p>
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<img alt="Two young Black women work from a desk at a library." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568490/original/file-20240109-27-ra0uc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568490/original/file-20240109-27-ra0uc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568490/original/file-20240109-27-ra0uc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568490/original/file-20240109-27-ra0uc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568490/original/file-20240109-27-ra0uc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568490/original/file-20240109-27-ra0uc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568490/original/file-20240109-27-ra0uc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Libraries are chock-full of resources – including free Wi-Fi.</span>
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<h2>A crucial moment for libraries</h2>
<p>Though libraries have been forced to <a href="https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/09/american-library-association-releases-preliminary-data-2023-book-challenges">reckon with book bans</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/tennessees-drag-ban-rehashes-old-culture-war-narratives-201623">politicization of public spaces</a>, Gen Zers and millennials still see libraries as a kind of oasis – a place where doomscrolling and information overload can be quieted, if temporarily. </p>
<p>Perhaps Gen Zers’ and millennials’ library visits, like their <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/29/dumb-phones-are-on-the-rise-in-the-us-as-gen-z-limits-screen-time.html">embrace of flip phones</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-gen-z-ers-drawn-to-old-digital-cameras-198854">board games</a>, are another life hack for slowing down.</p>
<p>Printed books won’t ping you or ghost you. And when young people eventually log back on to their devices, books <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/BookTok">make excellent props for #BookTok</a>, the community on TikTok where readers review their favorite books.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathi Inman Berens receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Delmas Foundation, the Panorama Project and the American Library Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Noorda receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Delmas Foundation, the Panorama Project and the American Library Association.</span></em></p>Though they’re sometimes characterized as attention-addled homebodies, younger people see a real value in libraries − one that goes beyond books.Kathi Inman Berens, Associate Professor of Book Publishing and Digital Humanities, Portland State UniversityRachel Noorda, Associate Professor of Publishing, Portland State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2200802024-01-10T14:16:13Z2024-01-10T14:16:13ZPoor Things: meet the radical Scottish visionary behind the new hit film<p>Director Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things tells the story of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), an irrepressibly free woman who seems to have the mind of an innocent child. She embarks on an exuberant voyage of discovery, travelling around 19th-century Europe and reaching Egypt, experiencing many new things as her intellect rapidly develops, before returning home to face her secret past.</p>
<p>The film is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by the Glaswegian Alasdair Gray. Gray was a maverick and polymath – a writer, artist, polemicist, dissident and civic nationalist – who had an immense influence on contemporary Scottish literature and beyond.</p>
<p>Like watching Lanthimos’s gorgeous spectacle, reading Gray is a wild and unsettling ride. His work is full of progressive imagination, wry impropriety and intricate literary form.</p>
<p>Gray was a bold creative thinker, one who dared to make a slightly disreputable character out of God, for instance. He was a radical who disturbed established order, including through the blending of visual and literary art. For him, naming and contesting arbitrary power and providing both visceral witness to, and alternative visions of, contemporary society are defining qualities of his work – particularly Poor Things.</p>
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<h2>A Scottish Frankenstein</h2>
<p>Rather than a single perspective, Poor Things is made up of different documents stitched together – prefaces, journal entries, letters, explanatory footnotes – that produce multiple, competing stories. The story is self-reflexive, where the narrative voice or action dwell on the act of writing or making fiction. </p>
<p>Poor Things is full of allusions to, and borrowings from, the rich resources of Victorian fiction – most obviously Frankenstein – and reference works. Typographical experimentation and word play abound. For instance, the name of the novel’s great medical scientist Godwin Baxter is sometimes abbreviated to “God” to emphasise paternalism, powers of creation, withdrawal from the world and many other interpretations.</p>
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<p>Gray’s creative practice is “multi-modal”, weaving the written word with his own visual art. In Poor Things, this approach can be seen in the images, which include portraits, anatomical illustrations, maps and frenzied handwritten sections. These aspects provide an added interpretive dimension to the text and reinforce, reframe or even contradict the written elements.</p>
<p>These components make for a pleasurable literary puzzle – but there’s a serious side to the novel’s complexity too. One convincing interpretation of Bella Baxter is as a feminist figure, who thwarts the attempts of men to control her and her narrative. </p>
<p>Authority is firmly in question in Poor Things, both the regular kind and the mantle taken on by authors themselves. It turns a critical eye on Victorian history and the British Empire, and the role of literature in that history.</p>
<h2>Glasgow made</h2>
<p>Poor Things was published in the same year as Gray’s <a href="https://canongate.co.uk/books/220-why-scots-should-rule-scotland-1997/">Why Scots Should Rule Scotland</a>, an anti-imperialist and democratic-socialist argument that advocated for civic nationalism where people are equal and active participants in Scottish society. He was an unapologetic supporter of an independent Scotland and a passionate Republican, which was emblematised by <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/politics/18137079.alasdair-gray-work-live-early-days-better-nation/">his repeated order</a> to “work as if you live in the early days of a better nation”.</p>
<p>The illustration of Bella in the novel is labelled as “Bella Caledonia”, suggesting her as Gray’s metaphor for Scotland: tangled up with a difficult history but oriented to the future, and full of potential. Calendonia is a romantic name used to refer to Scotland. The fact that Bella is English-born counter intuitively supports this argument. A civic nation is about the people in it, rather than people born there.</p>
<p>Transplanted to London, little of Glasgow or indeed Scotland can be perceived in Lanthimos’s film. But the intellectual history and social consciousness of Poor Things is not independent of its Glasgow setting. Gray was shaped by the radical spirit and unique architecture of the city, which inspired his fiction and artwork. </p>
<p>Gray studied at Glasgow School of Art, the experience of which is fictionalised in parts of his magnum opus <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/library/files/special/exhibns/month/may2002.html">Lanark: A Life in Four Books</a> (1981). He produced unique portraiture, familiar and strange landscapes and ambitious murals which can still be seen in Glasgow. </p>
<p>For anyone yet to visit, the stereotype of Glasgow is a city of heavy industry now vanished, heavy Victorian tenements, heavy drinking and heavy rainfall. That idea has been difficult to dislodge. </p>
<p>In Lanark, the protagonist Duncan Thaw bemoans the difficulty in imagining Glasgow creatively, a task that Gray applied himself to assiduously through his career. Lanark itself, an epic that combines vivid fantasy with evocative realism, is where much of that imagination takes place. Its grandeur and ambition would suit the blockbuster treatment.</p>
<p>Lanthimos’s film and Gray’s text are independent but related works. It is worth remembering that adaptations are under no obligation to be faithful to source materials. There is no governing body adjudicating and no code of laws to apply. Traces remain, however. Look out for the interrogation of authority, the imagination of an alternative future, and the indomitable spirit of Bella Baxter. Then read some Alasdair Gray.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe Jackson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A radical painter and writer, Alasdair Gray’s work was full of bold visions for an independent Scotland.Joe Jackson, Associate Professor in Twentieth-Century and Contemporary English Literature, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2203602024-01-08T17:12:29Z2024-01-08T17:12:29ZConcerned about student mental health? How wellness is related to academic achievement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568050/original/file-20240105-27-xj485x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C163%2C5464%2C3449&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We can and should support both student mental health and student academic achievement, because they affect each other. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley/EDUimages)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/concerned-about-student-mental-health-how-wellness-is-related-to-academic-achievement" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Supporting student mental health and well-being has become a priority for schools. This was the case even prior to the increased <a href="https://theconversation.com/child-and-youth-mental-health-problems-have-doubled-during-covid-19-162750">signs of child and youth mental health adversity</a> in and after the pandemic. </p>
<p>Supporting student mental health is important because students of all ages can experience stressors that negatively affect their well-being and sometimes lead to mental health diagnoses.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.10.005">some have suggested</a> we can either <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2017/11/20/stop-stressing-out-our-kids-why-childrens-mental-health-is-as-important-as-academic-achievement-7084383/">support academic success or mental health</a> — and that mental health is <a href="https://www.connectedforlife.co.uk/blog/2017/11/22/childrens-mental-health-is-more-important-than-academic-achievement">more important than academic achievement</a>.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878520980197">we can and should support both</a> academic success and mental health — because they affect each other. </p>
<p>As a researcher who examines school-based mental health and also as a former school psychologist, it’s clear to me that one of the best ways to support mental health is to support academic development, especially early in children’s education.</p>
<h2>Well-being in education</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264273856-en">Well-being in educational</a> settings involves all aspects of students’ lives: physical, cognitive, social and psychological functioning. </p>
<p>Education policymakers, schools and educators must attend to student well-being holistically rather than targeting one area at the expense of other areas. </p>
<p>A great deal of research shows that early academic performance predicts mental health and well-being. Most of the research showing this relationship between well-being and academic success is in the area of reading. </p>
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<img alt="Students seen working together at desks in a classroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A great deal of research shows that early academic performance predicts mental health and well-being.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.all4ed.org/female-elementary-students-work-on-poster">(Allison Shelley/ EDUimages)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>Recent reports <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/experience-students-and-families">from both Ontario</a> and Saskatchewan <a href="https://saskatchewanhumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Equitable-Education-for-Students-with-Reading-Disabilities-report.pdf">human rights commissions</a> highlighted the important role of strong reading instruction for student well-being, confidence and academic engagement. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reading-disabilities-are-a-human-rights-issue-saskatchewan-joins-calls-to-address-barriers-214129">Reading disabilities are a human rights issue — Saskatchewan joins calls to address barriers</a>
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<h2>Stronger reading abilities, positive outcomes</h2>
<p>In the example of reading and mental health, gaining reading skills increases positive student outcomes. Good readers report being more <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED593894.pdf">satisfied with their lives</a>. </p>
<p>Later, they have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.socscimed.2020.112971">fewer symptoms</a> of anxiety and depression. Teachers rate students with strong reading skills as more prosocial and as having fewer behaviour problems. </p>
<p>These students are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v9i1.5053">more confident, have higher emotional intelligence and demonstrate more empathy</a>. These positive outcomes are related to reading skill development, an important early indicator of academic success.</p>
<h2>Poorer reading skills, worse outcomes</h2>
<p>Being a poor reader, however, increases the risk for poor outcomes. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022219408321123#">Weak readers</a> in early grades are more likely to have behavioural problems later. They also have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26097274/">poorer self-concept and self control, difficulty with relationships</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v9i1.5053">shame, anxiety</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.09.002">depression</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000242241.77302.f4">suicidality and delinquency</a>. </p>
<p>Students who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194060390060301">drop out of school</a> are more likely to be poor readers, and poor readers are more likely to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000242241.77302.f4">involved with the criminal justice system</a>. It is particularly telling that one of the best ways to keep youth from re-offending is to <a href="https://richardfelson.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/acaddel.pdf">teach them to read</a>.</p>
<h2>Students with dyslexia</h2>
<p>The relationship between dyslexia and poor well-being and mental health further reveals the interaction between academic success and mental health. Students with dyslexia, which is characterized by difficulties gaining reading skills, have more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19404158.2018.1479975">difficulty making friends</a>, and having friends is an integral part of mental health.</p>
<p>They are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00366.x">more likely to be bullied</a> and to have low self-esteem. More specifically, having dyslexia increases the risk for also having <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-009-0049-7">anxiety, depression</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194211056297">behavioural problems</a>.</p>
<h2>Equity, reading instruction and well-being</h2>
<p>Further, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01015.x">students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds</a> are at greater risk both of not gaining adequate reading skills and of worse mental-health outcomes.</p>
<p>Language and literacy researchers <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/wp-content/uploads/EdCan-2006-v46-n2-Beswick.pdf">Joan F. Beswick and Elizabeth A. Sloat</a> contend that adequate access to strong reading instruction is a social justice issue. Their research, and <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/FINAL%20R2R%20REPORT%20DESIGNED%20April%2012.pdf">other findings</a>, document how students from poorer neighbourhoods are less likely to receive adequate reading instruction. This disproportionately puts them at risk for mental health problems that reduce their well-being.</p>
<p>The relationship between academic success and well-being is not limited to elementary school reading. High-school students who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.02.007">achieve academically</a> also have <a href="https://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2020/20975/pdf/JERO_2020_2_Kleinkorres_Stang_McElvany_A_longitudinal_analysis.pdf">better mental health</a>. </p>
<h2>A two-way relationship</h2>
<p>It is important to note, nevertheless, that the relationship between academic achievement and mental health is bidirectional. </p>
<p>Some research shows that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29150840/;%20%22%22">poor mental health, including behaviour problems, affect academic outcomes</a>.</p>
<p>The relationship between academic success and mental health is complex and likely interactive with both <a href="https://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2020/20975/pdf/JERO_2020_2_Kleinkorres_Stang_McElvany_A_longitudinal_analysis.pdf">poor achievement and excessive competition for high marks contributing to poor mental health</a>. Academic performance and mental health each affect the other — either supportively or adversely.</p>
<h2>Unhealthy academic competition</h2>
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<span class="caption">A focus on academic competition negatively impacts mental health and well-being.</span>
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<p>Strong academic performance supports mental health and well-being, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.10.005">unhealthy levels of academic competition negatively impact mental health and well-being</a>. Reining in this unhealthy focus on intense academic competition is important. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/classdojo-raises-concerns-about-childrens-rights-111033">ClassDojo raises concerns about children's rights</a>
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<p>But only focusing on stressors of classroom competition in the relationship between academic performance and mental health could have adverse effects in the short- and longer term: It could reduce the mental health of students by not supporting healthy academic growth that promotes mental health and well-being. </p>
<p>It could also fail to teach students practices or habits required to navigate challenges with resiliency.</p>
<h2>Need to support both</h2>
<p>If we want to support student well-being and mental health, we need to support mental health directly by developing healthy school climates, teaching social emotional learning, and providing psychological services in schools. </p>
<p>But we also must support student academic success. This is the case especially as our most vulnerable students are at risk of both academic difficulty and mental health problems. </p>
<p>We don’t have to choose: we can and should support students’ academic success and mental health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220360/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle Wilcox is affiliated with Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta and the Learning Disabilities & ADHD Network Calgary Region. </span></em></p>A key way to support mental health and well-being is to support strong reading instruction especially early in children’s education.Gabrielle Wilcox, Associate Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2200652023-12-20T17:06:16Z2023-12-20T17:06:16ZThe seven best books of 2023 reviewed by our experts<p><em>We have covered a lot of new releases this year but these seven really impressed our experts. There’s a feminist retelling of a classic, a twist on the murder mystery from the greatest voice in horror and a giggle-inducing ride through the Middle Ages – not mention one of the most hotly anticipated autobiographies of all time.</em></p>
<h2>1. The Fraud by Zadie Smith</h2>
<p>Zadie Smith’s latest novel, The Fraud, is her first foray into the world of historical fiction. The result is a stunning, well-studied examination of Victorian colonial England and some of its inhabitants.</p>
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<p>As with other works by Smith, the novel takes a patchwork approach, with several interwoven plots taking place over a period of about 50 years. Centrally placed in the plot is the real-life and highly bizarre trial of a man claiming to be a Sir Roger Tichborne, thought to have been killed at sea and heir to a substantial fortune.</p>
<p>The absurd and very long trial, which had people from all communities in 1870s England hooked, is seen in the novel through the eyes of Eliza Touchet, cousin and companion of William Ainsworth, a novelist well known in Victorian England but relatively forgotten today.</p>
<p><em>By Leighan M. Renaud, Lecturer in Caribbean Literatures and Cultures</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fraud-by-zadie-smith-review-a-dazzling-depiction-of-victorian-colonial-england-212808">The Fraud by Zadie Smith review: a dazzling depiction of Victorian colonial England</a></p>
<h2>2. Holly by Stephen King</h2>
<p>At the age of 76, with nearly 70 novels and short story collections behind him, American author Stephen King shows few signs of slowing down. His latest novel Holly, hefty in scale and elaborate in plotting, is the work of an energetic writer, not one who is getting tired.</p>
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<p>The book is a compelling composite of the crime and horror genres, as addictive as the cigarettes which the title character finds herself smoking, as she investigates a spate of abductions in a midwest town.</p>
<p>One of the incidental pleasures offered by Holly is its allusion to books from earlier in King’s long literary career. The terrifying incarceration experienced by the novel’s victims, for example, recalls that of the central figure in Misery (1987). A reference to blood poured over a high school prom queen summons up thoughts of Carrie (1974), King’s first novel.</p>
<p>That said, this new book shows King experimenting and innovating, rather than simply being content to reactivate the tropes of his previous fiction.</p>
<p><em>By Andrew Dix, Senior Lecturer in American Literature and Film</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/holly-by-stephen-king-a-timely-work-of-crime-fiction-about-not-judging-a-book-by-its-cover-214649">Holly by Stephen King: a timely work of crime fiction about not judging a book by its cover</a></p>
<h2>3.Julia by Sandra Newman</h2>
<p>Given the relatively cardboard cut-out nature of the original character in Nineteen Eighty-Four, the foregrounding of [Julia’s] sexual experiences and sexuality as well as her early life gives her a vitality in this retelling lacking in Orwell’s portrait.</p>
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<p>This is not so surprising. Orwell’s female characters (even Dorothy Hare, the eponymous heroine of A Clergyman’s Daughter, 1935) tend to be slight figures. By contrast, Newman’s Julia Worthing is anchored and adventurous. She’s willing to take risks and to suffer for her actions in ways that might seem unlikely if not impossible with Orwell’s Julia.</p>
<p><em>By Simon Potter, Professor of Modern History and Peter Marks, Emeritus Professor in English and Writing</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/julia-by-sandra-newman-a-vibrant-retelling-of-george-orwells-nineteen-eighty-four-215735">Julia by Sandra Newman: a vibrant retelling of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four</a></p>
<h2>4. Victory City by Salman Rushdie</h2>
<p>Victory City is an epic chronicle of the rise and fall of Vijayanagar (the capital city of the historic southern Indian Vijayanagara empire), which acquires the name “Bisnaga” through ill-fated attempts at pronunciation by a Portuguese traveller … Throughout the novel, Rushdie explores the process of writing history – how it is recorded and how significance is apportioned. As Pampa Kampana states: “History is the consequence not only of people’s actions but also their forgetfulness.”</p>
<p>Rushdie is interested in how history is argued over and rewritten in contemporary moments. In particular, he takes aim at the populist exploitation of historical narratives for political gain. We hear that “fictions could be as powerful as histories” and that – paradoxically – “they were no more than make believe but they created truth”.</p>
<p><em>By Florian Stadtler, Lecturer in Literature and Migration</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/salman-rushdies-victory-city-review-a-storyteller-at-the-height-of-his-powers-199619">Salman Rushdie’s Victory City review: a storyteller at the height of his powers</a></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-seven-best-tv-shows-of-2023-reviewed-by-our-experts-218196">The seven best TV shows of 2023 reviewed by our experts</a>
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<h2>5. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears</h2>
<p>Britney Spears’ new memoir, The Woman in Me, illustrates once again the potential lifelong damage that can be caused by being a child star. Like many before her, including Judy Garland and Michael Jackson, Spears was ushered into the dangerous terrain of childhood fame by the adults who were supposed to be protecting her, and was utterly unprepared to deal with the fallout.</p>
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<p>Spears’ father’s conservatorship, controlling every aspect of her personal and professional life, was finally rescinded in 2021. She is now able to share the details of her extraordinary years in the limelight and beyond.</p>
<p><em>By Jane O’Connor, Reader in Childhood Studies</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/britney-spears-memoir-is-a-reminder-of-the-stigma-and-potential-damage-of-child-stardom-216545">Britney Spears’ memoir is a reminder of the stigma and potential damage of child stardom</a></p>
<h2>6. My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand</h2>
<p>As a diva, Streisand has consistently defied instructions not to do something by doubling up her efforts. For example, at the start of her career when she was auditioning for record labels, one of the executives said she had a nice voice but was “too ethnic”.</p>
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<p>Her response was to loudly embrace her Jewish identity. She played explicitly Jewish characters in her first two and only stage roles, in the musicals I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962) and Funny Girl (1964). She refused to get a nose job and drew attention to her nose a lot in her work. And she co-wrote, produced, directed and appeared in the hit film Yentl (1983), about a Jewish woman who pretends to be a man in order to get an education.</p>
<p>Success has often come to Streisand by doing things people have told her not to do: a twist on the negative diva trope.</p>
<p><em>By Dominic Broomfield-McHugh, Professor of Musicology</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/barbra-streisands-autobiography-my-name-is-barbra-shows-how-she-redefined-the-diva-217328">Barbra Streisand’s autobiography My Name is Barbra shows how she redefined the diva</a></p>
<h2>7. Weird Medieval Guys by Olivia Swarthout</h2>
<p>Packed full of satire, stunning imagery and interactive maps and quizzes, Weird Medieval Guys is a deep-dive into some of the most extraordinary – and quirky – aspects of medieval daily life. This little book, which should appeal to older children as well as adults, is split into two parts: The Struggle: Surviving Life, Love, and Death, and The Bestiary.</p>
<p>Weird Medieval Guys is a riot, packed full of brilliant medieval facts. Its author, Olivia Swarthout, has been creative in using quizzes and puzzles to engage readers who might like history but don’t get on with dense scholarly texts in the wonderful, wacky world that is the Middle Ages.</p>
<p>What is particularly evident to me as an expert in medieval literature, is the number of hours she has spent consulting digitised manuscripts from the first century onwards, as well as old and recent scholarship on medieval manuscript culture and life in general.</p>
<p><em>By Madeleine S Killacky, PhD Candidate in Medieval Literature</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/weird-medieval-guys-this-deeply-researched-book-takes-you-on-a-romp-through-the-middle-ages-217138">Weird Medieval Guys: this deeply researched book takes you on a romp through the Middle Ages</a></p>
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>These books had our academics gripped until their final pages.Leighan M Renaud, Lecturer in Caribbean Literatures and Cultures, Department of English, University of BristolAndrew Dix, Senior Lecturer in American Literature and Film, Loughborough UniversityDominic Broomfield-McHugh, Professor of Musicology, University of SheffieldFlorian Stadtler, Lecturer in Literature and Migration, University of BristolJane O’Connor, Reader in Childhood Studies, Birmingham City UniversityMadeleine S. Killacky, PhD Candidate, Medieval Literature, Bangor UniversitySimon Potter, Professor of Modern History, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2196462023-12-13T13:31:09Z2023-12-13T13:31:09ZWales’s Pisa school test results have declined – but it’s not a true reflection of an education system<p>Every three years, an early Christmas gift arrives for the global education community from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Programme for International Student Assessments (<a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/">Pisa</a>) is an international test in which 15 year olds are tested on their knowledge and skills. </p>
<p>It relegates those far below the Pisa top ten as poor performers in desperate need of improvement, which this time includes Wales.</p>
<p>The Pisa scores for participating education systems around the world are unquestionably significant. But since its inception in 2000, Pisa has sparked much debate, especially among experts and policymakers, with many viewing it as a <a href="https://ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2019/11/is-pisa-fundamentally-flawed-because-of-the-scaling-methodology-used/">flawed</a> assessment of educational outcomes. In <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/Combined_Executive_Summaries_PISA_2018.pdf">2018</a>, around 600,000 students took part in the standardised Pisa tests, which measured their performance in maths, science and reading, and also looked at wellbeing.</p>
<p>Predictably, the 2023 Pisa results captured the negative impact of COVID on learners and learning, with some downward trends in performance visible across the data set. </p>
<p>The results signalled mixed fortunes for the <a href="https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/pisa-results-reveal-students-in-the-uk-have-higher-than-average-levels-of-maths-reading-and-science/">UK</a>. The <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-67616536">BBC headline</a>, reporting the results starkly stated: “Wales slumps to worst school test results.” Such sweeping statements are by now an anticipated byproduct of Pisa that ignore how the tests are often highly contested and <a href="https://revisesociology.com/2020/05/15/the-pisa-global-education-tests-arguments-for-and-against/">controversial</a>. </p>
<h2>Pisa in Wales</h2>
<p>Every three years, Pisa measures the ability of 15 year olds to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. In Wales, 2,568 pupils from 89 schools took a two-hour computer-based exercise. To put this in context, there are <a href="https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Education-and-Skills/Schools-and-Teachers/Schools-Census/Pupil-Level-Annual-School-Census/Pupils/pupils-by-yeargroup-sex">approximately</a> 33,000 pupils in Year 11 in 178 secondary schools and 27 middle schools in Wales.</p>
<p>The subsequent OECD report <a href="https://www.gov.wales/achievement-15-year-olds-program-international-student-assessment-pisa-national-report-2022">acknowledges</a> that “the sample for Wales, and for many other countries, did not meet some of the Pisa standards”. It is important to reflect on how a test taken by a sample of 15-year-old students, every three years for two hours, can possibly be a valid and reliable measure of a system’s performance even in a relative sense. </p>
<p>Pisa’s statistics show that Wales’s average score for mathematics in 2022 was significantly lower than the average across OECD countries. Wales’s average scores for mathematics, reading and science have all declined significantly since 2018. This was also the case, on average, across OECD countries for mathematics and reading. Although for science, the difference between the OECD average in 2022 was not significantly different to that in 2018. </p>
<p>It also noted that the gap in performance between pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds and the least disadvantaged backgrounds was smaller in Wales than it was on average across OECD countries for all subjects. </p>
<p>The important thing to observe is that Pisa deals in averages. In the latest results, those averages are derived from the 81 countries that took part, which is a huge range. The report notes a relative fall in Welsh performance against an aggregated average of OECD countries. </p>
<p>It then highlights that this decline was also the case on average across OECD countries for mathematics and reading. In other words, this is a trend. It also suggests that Wales has been more successful in closing the achievement gap between the most disadvantaged and least disadvantaged pupils than most other OECD countries. Yet this important indicator of success has been overshadowed by the blanket headlines of abject educational failure.</p>
<p>If all countries participating in Pisa now recover fully after COVID and improve their educational performance across the board, it is highly likely that Wales will “underperform” on Pisa yet again, whatever it does. If all countries in Pisa continue a steady trajectory of improvement, the country differentials will remain largely the same. Some countries may move up or down, but that movement will be marginal. </p>
<h2>A game of relatives</h2>
<p>There were no real surprises in the latest results. Countries like Singapore, Taiwan and Japan have retained their comparative advantage and will probably continue to do so, because Pisa is a game of relatives. The complexity and dynamic of any education system cannot (and should not) be at the mercy of a single measure of assessment however compelling or lucrative. </p>
<p>But what does that mean for Wales? First, it should encourage us to look at Pisa as one data set only and to not be obsessed by its findings. It is important to put Pisa in perspective by looking far beyond the simple headlines and delving into the detail of the report. </p>
<p>Second, it should be a reminder that Pisa is a snapshot of performance at a particular moment in time. It takes no account of the possibilities and potential of ongoing reform – deep contextual detail is not on its global radar. Hence, the danger is that every three years, Pisa fuels doubt, dissent and concern, when education systems need certainty, confidence and consensus about the reforms they are putting in place.</p>
<p>Third, no education system is perfect. Getting great Pisa scores is certainly no guarantee that the wellbeing and mental health of children and young people is not compromised or sidestepped along the way. The potential of human collateral damage in achieving high Pisa performance over two decades, unsurprisingly, does not feature in the OECD reports. </p>
<p>Wales has a choice, to either let this global compass direct its educational pathway, accepting that every three years it will derail and disrupt the reform agenda, or to hold its nerve. We cannot ignore Pisa, but we can put it in perspective and continue to focus on the learning and wellbeing of all children and young people in Wales. This is what matters most.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alma Harris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pisa measures 15-year-olds in reading, maths and science every three years - but is that the best way to test an education system?Alma Harris, Professor of Leadership in Education, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2188142023-12-05T10:01:35Z2023-12-05T10:01:35ZAustralian teenagers record steady results in international tests, but about half are not meeting proficiency standards<p>Australian high school students have achieved steady results in a new round of international tests. </p>
<p>The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, <a href="https://www.acer.org/au/pisa?utm_source=acer%20homepage&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=feature%20box">released on Tuesday night</a>, show 15-year-olds have recorded similar results to 2015 and 2018 in mathematics, science and reading. </p>
<p>But when looked at over the past 20 years, Australian students’ performance has dropped significantly. PISA also shows about one in eight Australian students is a “high performer”, while one in every four or five is a “low performer”. </p>
<h2>What is PISA?</h2>
<p>PISA is an international test of 15-year-olds’ knowledge and skills as they near the end of compulsory education.</p>
<p>It looks at maths, science and reading. In 2022, for the first time, it also assessed creative thinking. The creative thinking results will be released in 2024. </p>
<p>Since 2000, PISA has been conducted every three years but the assessment planned for 2021 was postponed until 2022 because of COVID. About 690,000 students across 81 countries participated in the test. Almost 13,500 students from 743 schools did the test in Australia. </p>
<p>Students complete a computer-based test and a background questionnaire. In the test, students are presented with stimulus material, such as a brief text, sometimes accompanied by a table, graph or diagram, and a series of questions. Students have to select the correct response or provide a written response, ranging from a word or a number, to an explanation. </p>
<p>In the questionnaire, students are asked about their family background, school life and attitudes about learning.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-year-4-students-have-not-lost-ground-on-reading-despite-pandemic-disruptions-205644">Australia’s Year 4 students have not lost ground on reading, despite pandemic disruptions</a>
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<h2>Why is PISA important?</h2>
<p>While other national and international assessments (such as NAPLAN) assess what students have learned in school, PISA assesses how students apply what they have learned to real-world situations.</p>
<p>It is also one of three international assessments in which Australia participates, along with the <a href="https://www.acer.org/au/pirls">Progress in International Reading Literacy Study</a> (PIRLS), which looks at Year 4 students’ reading comprehension skills, and <a href="https://www.acer.org/au/timss">Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study</a> (TIMSS), which covers maths and science in Year 4 and Year 8.</p>
<h2>How did Australia go?</h2>
<p>The PISA 2022 results show Australia was equal tenth in maths, and equal ninth in science and reading.</p>
<p>Australian students’ performance in maths and reading has not changed significantly over the past seven years, and their performance in science has not changed significantly over four years. </p>
<p>However, Australian students’ performance has declined significantly since PISA results were first reported. There has been a decrease of 37 points in maths, 20 points in science and 30 points in reading. </p>
<p>The test does not tell us the reasons for this drop. Other countries whose performance in maths, reading and science have also declined significantly include Canada, Finland, Greece, New Zealand and Sweden.</p>
<h2>Other countries drop</h2>
<p>Australia’s standing compared with other countries has improved since the last PISA test because the performance of other countries has declined. </p>
<p>In maths, 11 countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom) that outperformed Australia in 2018 are now on par with Australia. We are now outperforming six countries that were on par with Australia in 2018 (France, Iceland, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal and the Slovak Republic). </p>
<p>In Australia, male students performed significantly higher in maths (with an average score of 493 compared to the female average of 481). Female students performed significantly higher in reading (with an average of 509 compared to the male average of 487). Male and female students performed at similar levels for science. </p>
<p>Students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds performed significantly higher than students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and students in major cities performed significantly higher than students in regional or remote areas.</p>
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<img alt="Australia sits around tenth in maths compared to OECD countries." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562902/original/file-20231201-17-oxq3f0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562902/original/file-20231201-17-oxq3f0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562902/original/file-20231201-17-oxq3f0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562902/original/file-20231201-17-oxq3f0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562902/original/file-20231201-17-oxq3f0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562902/original/file-20231201-17-oxq3f0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562902/original/file-20231201-17-oxq3f0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Australia sits around tenth in maths compared to OECD countries. The Conversation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/">OECD, PISA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>What about high and low performers?</h2>
<p>About one in every eight Australian students is a “high performer” according to the test. This means they show high levels of skills and knowledge in reading, mathematics and science.</p>
<p>In reading and science, about one in every five of Australian students is a low performer, showing limited skills and knowledge in the relevant subject area, while in maths one in every four students is a low performer.</p>
<p>More than half of Australian students attained the (Australian-set) <a href="https://acara.edu.au/reporting/measurement-framework-for-schooling-in-australia">National Proficient Standard</a>. This meet this, students must “demonstrate more than elementary skills expected at that year level”. In maths, 51% attained the proficient standard, 58% attained it for science and 57% for reading.</p>
<p>Between 2018 and 2022 there was no significant change in the proportion of students who attained the National Proficient Standard. But there has been a significant decline since PISA results were first reported. This includes a 16 percentage point drop in mathematics, nine percentage points in science and 12 percentage points in reading.</p>
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<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>While it is encouraging to see Australia’s results remain steady, we need to look at the bigger picture.</p>
<p>This includes a long-term decline in results and the reality that a significant proportion of students still aren’t meeting national standards.</p>
<p>Clearly, we are failing some of our 15-year-old students – because they lack basic literacy and numeracy skills and the ability to apply them to real-world situations.</p>
<p>To move forward, we need to ask how our education system can lift their performance. We also cannot forget our high performers – how can our education system support them to extend their learning further?</p>
<p>PISA not only provides us with an opportunity to compare how Australia’s education system fares against other countries. We can also to look at high-performing countries and learn how their curriculum and teaching practices could improve the education of young Australians on the cusp of adulthood.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-australias-pisa-test-results-may-be-slipping-but-new-findings-show-most-students-didnt-try-very-hard-172050">Yes, Australia's PISA test results may be slipping, but new findings show most students didn't try very hard</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218814/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa De Bortoli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show Australian 15-year-olds have recorded similar results to 2015 and 2018 in maths, science and reading.Lisa De Bortoli, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Council for Educational ResearchLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145782023-12-04T19:14:17Z2023-12-04T19:14:17ZBest books of 2023: our experts share the books that have stayed with them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562917/original/file-20231201-29-4hsi2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3988%2C2000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation, Pexels/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We asked 20 of our regular contributors to nominate their favourite books of the year. Their choices were diverse, intriguing and sometimes surprising. Whether you’re looking for something relaxing or stimulating, educational or enchanting, this selection is a great way to plan your summer reading – or simply add to your bedside book tower.</p>
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<h2>Edwina Preston</h2>
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<p>My best book of 2023 is US essayist Cat Bohannon’s <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/eve-9781529151244">Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Evolution</a> (Hutchinson Heinemann). The tenor (and overall thesis) of Bohannon’s female-centred evolutionary history is encapsulated in a rewriting of the opening scene of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. </p>
<p>The marvel, in Bohannon’s version, and in her book overall, is not the evolutionary moment in which a tool is deployed as a battering weapon, but the quiet assistance of one pregnant and labouring woman by another. Midwifery and gynaecology: these are the evolutionary wonders that have allowed us to thrive as a species. </p>
<p>Bohannon’s book is less about correcting the evolutionary record than writing a cogent new evolutionary story altogether. </p>
<p><strong>– Edwina Preston is a PhD candidate in the School of Culture and Communication, Melbourne University. Her novel Bad Art Mother was shortlisted for the 2023 Stella Prize.</strong></p>
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<h2>Tony Hughes-d'Aeth</h2>
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<p>I’m not sure how I missed the work of Anne Enright. She didn’t exactly fly beneath the radar. But I read Enright’s <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-wren-the-wren-9781529922905">The Wren, The Wren</a> (Jonathan Cape) and was completely entranced. It is the best perspectival family novel I’ve read since Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections (2001). It offers a frank, feminine interiority that was often heartbreaking and occasionally hilarious. The book has a complex, loving hatred of men that was utterly fascinating. </p>
<p>Other books that really impressed me were Alexis Wright’s latest novel <a href="https://giramondopublishing.com/books/alexis-wright-praiseworthy/">Praiseworthy</a> (Giramondo), and Nicholas Jose’s fine novel <a href="https://giramondopublishing.com/books/nicholas-jose-the-idealist/">The Idealist</a> (Giramondo), set in the political intrigue of East Timor’s independence struggle.</p>
<p><strong>– Tony Hughes-d'Aeth is the Chair of Australian Literature at the University of Western Australia.</strong></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anne-enrights-bold-new-novel-the-wren-the-wren-is-the-work-of-a-writer-at-the-height-of-her-power-212193">Anne Enright’s bold new novel The Wren, The Wren is the work of a writer at the height of her power</a>
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<h2>Oscar Davis</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562263/original/file-20231128-23-hhyqrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562263/original/file-20231128-23-hhyqrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562263/original/file-20231128-23-hhyqrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562263/original/file-20231128-23-hhyqrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562263/original/file-20231128-23-hhyqrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562263/original/file-20231128-23-hhyqrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562263/original/file-20231128-23-hhyqrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562263/original/file-20231128-23-hhyqrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>One of the greatest moral challenges of today is overcoming our deeply rooted moral estrangement from the natural world and motivating meaningful action in the face of environmental crises. In her book, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Justice-for-Animals/Martha-C-Nussbaum/9781982102500">Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility</a> (Simon & Schuster), renowned philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum argues we require an ethical awakening that will lead to a new revolution in animal rights and law.</p>
<p>Her philosophical analysis of the past and future of environmental ethics decentres human interests and redirects our moral attention to the wondrous particularities of the lives of animals. Nussbaum demonstrates how the flourishing of the natural and social worlds is a collective duty. </p>
<p><strong>– Oscar Davis is Indigenous Fellow and Assistant Professor in Philosophy and History, Bond University.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Julienne van Loon</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562274/original/file-20231128-17-lzbx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562274/original/file-20231128-17-lzbx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562274/original/file-20231128-17-lzbx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562274/original/file-20231128-17-lzbx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562274/original/file-20231128-17-lzbx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562274/original/file-20231128-17-lzbx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1161&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562274/original/file-20231128-17-lzbx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1161&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562274/original/file-20231128-17-lzbx4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1161&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Simone Lazaroo’s sixth novel, <a href="https://fremantlepress.com.au/books/between-water-and-the-night-sky/">Between Water and the Night Sky</a> (Fremantle Press), opens with the narrator, Eva, sitting in a darkened hospital room and holding the still-warm hand of her recently deceased mother. </p>
<p>Lazaroo’s autofictional work is a subtle, contemplative reflection on migration, bicultural marriage and the awful power of silence, written with the lightly playful yet sharply observant approach to Australian life that has come to characterise her work as a novelist. </p>
<p>The mental health of the aged is a key theme, but this book left me contemplating larger questions too: what <em>is</em> a life well lived? A tender and wise elegy, it deserves a broad readership.</p>
<p><strong>– Julienne van Loon is associate professor in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Melbourne.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Wanning Sun</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562282/original/file-20231128-24-fxf37n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562282/original/file-20231128-24-fxf37n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562282/original/file-20231128-24-fxf37n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562282/original/file-20231128-24-fxf37n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562282/original/file-20231128-24-fxf37n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562282/original/file-20231128-24-fxf37n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562282/original/file-20231128-24-fxf37n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562282/original/file-20231128-24-fxf37n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Written by a cultural studies academic, Margaret Hillenbrand’s <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/on-the-edge/9780231212151">On the Edge: Feeling Precarious in China</a> (Colombia University Press) offers a new way of writing about social marginality and banishment as experienced by China’s underclasses - through the analysis of cultural and art forms. </p>
<p>Hillenbrand is as searing and uncompromising in her critique of the power of the state and neoliberal market as she is sensitive and compassionate to rural migrant labourers. The book is definitely not “China for Dummies”, nor will it leave you with a feelgood aftertaste. But you’ll be rewarded with a deeper appreciation of the moral complexity that is essential to understanding China.</p>
<p><strong>– Wanning Sun is a professor of Media and Cultural Studies at University of Technology Sydney.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Matthew Ricketson</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562646/original/file-20231130-29-nuztbj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562646/original/file-20231130-29-nuztbj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562646/original/file-20231130-29-nuztbj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562646/original/file-20231130-29-nuztbj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562646/original/file-20231130-29-nuztbj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562646/original/file-20231130-29-nuztbj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562646/original/file-20231130-29-nuztbj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562646/original/file-20231130-29-nuztbj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>If you haven’t already, dive into Mick Herron’s spy storyworld. His <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/mick-herron/slow-horses-slough-house-thriller-1">Slow Horses</a> (John Murray) series of eight novels updates (and, to many, improves on) John Le Carré. </p>
<p>Where tradecraft is central to Le Carré’s bleak cold war novels, the slow horses are agents sent to MI5’s knackery, known as Slough House, and overseen by Jackson Lamb, a character as memorable as George Smiley but utterly different. Marinated in whiskey, shrouded in stale cigarette smoke, he’s as foul-mouthed as the fart-fugged air in his airless office. “Off you fuck”, he barks to end meetings of his hapless charges. </p>
<p>Funny, cynical, beautifully written and unputdownable. </p>
<p><strong>– Matthew Ricketson is Professor of Communication, Deakin University.</strong></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-classical-espionage-novel-with-shades-of-le-carre-the-idealist-explores-the-tumultuous-path-to-east-timorese-independence-213970">A classical espionage novel with shades of Le Carré, The Idealist explores the tumultuous path to East Timorese independence</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Anna Clark</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562279/original/file-20231128-23-6g8udc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562279/original/file-20231128-23-6g8udc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562279/original/file-20231128-23-6g8udc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562279/original/file-20231128-23-6g8udc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562279/original/file-20231128-23-6g8udc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562279/original/file-20231128-23-6g8udc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1147&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562279/original/file-20231128-23-6g8udc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1147&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562279/original/file-20231128-23-6g8udc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1147&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>My pick for this year is a beautiful work of memoir by Maggie MacKellar, <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/graft-9781742752471">Graft: Motherhood, Family and a Year on the Land</a> (Hamish Hamilton). Writing about life on her sheep farm in southeast Tasmania over a year, Mackellar gives an account of precarity caused by drought and climate change, as well as the beauty of our attachments to place. </p>
<p>Alongside this narrative of the farm itself is a moving family story, Mackellar’s own, of childhood, motherhood and loss. It’s beautifully written without being sentimental, inviting us into her curious and gentle inner thoughts that weave and wend across place and time.</p>
<p><strong>– Anna Clark is a professor at the Australian Centre for Public History, University of Technology Sydney.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Tanya Latty</h2>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563182/original/file-20231204-17-7i45bc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563182/original/file-20231204-17-7i45bc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563182/original/file-20231204-17-7i45bc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563182/original/file-20231204-17-7i45bc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563182/original/file-20231204-17-7i45bc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1181&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563182/original/file-20231204-17-7i45bc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1181&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563182/original/file-20231204-17-7i45bc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1181&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Adam P. Karremans’ <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123227426-demystifying-orchid-pollination?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=hyoN0WEDjL&rank=1">Demystifying Orchid Pollination: Stories of Sex, Lies and Obsession</a> takes readers on a journey into the wild world of orchid pollination. From sexually deceptive orchids that entice amorous male wasps by mimicking the look and smell of the female insects, to orchids that intoxicate their pollinators with narcotic-laced nectar, orchids have evolved fascinating techniques to entice – and trick – animals into helping them reproduce. </p>
<p>The book is enhanced by the innovative use of QR codes linking to videos showing some seriously incredible insect-orchid interactions. The fascinating video content and beautiful photographs make for a wildly entertaining multimedia experience. Chapters are named after famous songs (“I put a spell on you”, “Original Prankster”), which adds to the book’s sense of wonder and fun. But make no mistake – this book contains serious science written in a way that will appeal to biologists and lay people alike.</p>
<p><strong>– Tanya Latty is an associate professor in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Nick Haslam</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562265/original/file-20231128-23-vgeed3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562265/original/file-20231128-23-vgeed3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562265/original/file-20231128-23-vgeed3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562265/original/file-20231128-23-vgeed3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562265/original/file-20231128-23-vgeed3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562265/original/file-20231128-23-vgeed3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1146&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562265/original/file-20231128-23-vgeed3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1146&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562265/original/file-20231128-23-vgeed3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1146&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Patrick Weil’s <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674291614">The Madman in the White House</a> (Harvard University Press) has it all: political intrigue, momentous historical events, a charismatic central character who mixed with Churchill, Stalin, Hemingway and Picasso, a cameo by Sigmund Freud, an astonishing discovery in the archives and a champagne-drinking bear. </p>
<p>The story of US diplomat William Bullitt and his infamous psychobiography of Woodrow Wilson – to Freud “the silliest fool of the century if not all centuries” – the book excels as history, character study and intellectual thriller. Weil’s assertion that “democratic leaders can be just as unbalanced as dictators” is more apt now than ever.</p>
<p><strong>– Nick Haslam is Professor of Psychology, The University of Melbourne.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Heidi Norman</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563155/original/file-20231204-21-ln4xzc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The cover of Borderland" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563155/original/file-20231204-21-ln4xzc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563155/original/file-20231204-21-ln4xzc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563155/original/file-20231204-21-ln4xzc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563155/original/file-20231204-21-ln4xzc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563155/original/file-20231204-21-ln4xzc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1164&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563155/original/file-20231204-21-ln4xzc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1164&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563155/original/file-20231204-21-ln4xzc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1164&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>I was delighted to read Graham Akhurst’s debut novel <a href="https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/borderland">Borderland</a> (UWA Publishing).
Akhurst explains that his interest in writing Borderland was to write to and for his younger self. </p>
<p>The novel is set in Brisbane and the two lead male and female characters (Jono and Jenny) are vitally entwined. Jono, an Aboriginal boy from a single-mother household, casts a nervous and anxious gaze on the world around him, confined as it is to a private school and life in outer suburban Brisbane. We see and experience the world through his inquiring and sometimes wounded eyes. Jenny, in contrast, starts out far more confident about herself and the world she draws upon.</p>
<p>There are two key themes explored in the novel. One is identity, not of the clunky salvation trope, but rather through understanding, with attention and care, how an Aboriginal boy navigates life when carrying the significant burden of being expected to know, in a fixed, linear way, who he resolutely is. This exploration reveals the fluidity of identity as a process of becoming: perhaps through meaningful relationships and experiencing your Country. </p>
<p>The second theme is the challenge and dilemma Aboriginal communities encounter navigating survival – when extractive industrial capitalism is underway on your land – alongside the embodied responsibility to Country. It’s what we might think of as Aboriginal modernity. </p>
<p>All over Australia, Aboriginal communities are forced to engage in the Faustian bargain at great risk and cost. Both these themes are difficult to communicate, let alone to the intended reader of this book: a 15-year-old Aboriginal boy. Inspired by the work of acclaimed writer Alexis Wright, Akhurst’s Indigenous realism brings them to dramatic effect.</p>
<p><strong>– Heidi Norman is Professor and Associate Dean in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, and a researcher in the field of Australian Aboriginal political history.</strong></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/enraged-tragic-and-hopeful-alexis-wrights-new-novel-praiseworthy-explores-aboriginal-sovereignty-in-the-shadow-of-the-anthropocene-202827">Enraged, tragic and hopeful: Alexis Wright's new novel Praiseworthy explores Aboriginal sovereignty in the shadow of the anthropocene</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Julian Novitz</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562271/original/file-20231128-17-ghtbnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562271/original/file-20231128-17-ghtbnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562271/original/file-20231128-17-ghtbnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562271/original/file-20231128-17-ghtbnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562271/original/file-20231128-17-ghtbnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562271/original/file-20231128-17-ghtbnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562271/original/file-20231128-17-ghtbnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562271/original/file-20231128-17-ghtbnj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>New Zealand novelist Catherine Chidgey has been on an incredible creative roll, with three critically acclaimed novels published in the space of just four years. </p>
<p>Her latest, <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Catherine-Chidgey-Pet-9781787704732/">Pet</a> (Europa), follows the development of an increasingly disquieting relationship between its 12-year-old narrator Justine and her charismatic teacher, Mrs Price. </p>
<p>The novel is a superbly executed slow-burn thriller, which builds out of the stifling isolation of 1980s New Zealand life, and the disorienting competitiveness and paranoia Mrs Price cultivates in her classroom. </p>
<p><strong>– Julian Novitz is Senior Lecturer, Writing, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Dennis Altman</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562283/original/file-20231128-23-nsscjx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562283/original/file-20231128-23-nsscjx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562283/original/file-20231128-23-nsscjx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562283/original/file-20231128-23-nsscjx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562283/original/file-20231128-23-nsscjx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562283/original/file-20231128-23-nsscjx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1161&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562283/original/file-20231128-23-nsscjx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1161&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562283/original/file-20231128-23-nsscjx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1161&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>John Addington Symonds and Henry Ellis were significant pioneers of sexology in the late 19th century, who together wrote Sexual Inversion. Tom Crewe has constructed a fictional account of their lives, <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-new-life-9781784744700">The New Life</a> (Chatto & Windus), acknowledging it should not be read for historical accuracy. As he states, “Symonds died in 1893 and this novel begins in 1894.”</p>
<p>Both men marry, Symonds to hide his homosexuality, Ellis because he believes in the emancipation of women and encourages his wife to have a lesbian relationship. Historically inaccurate, yes, but it captures brilliantly the sexual politics of an era overshadowed by the Oscar Wilde scandal and the origins of the suffragette movement.</p>
<p><strong>– Dennis Altman is Vice Chancellor’s Fellow, Latrobe University.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Alice Gorman</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562278/original/file-20231128-23-be917n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562278/original/file-20231128-23-be917n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562278/original/file-20231128-23-be917n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562278/original/file-20231128-23-be917n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562278/original/file-20231128-23-be917n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562278/original/file-20231128-23-be917n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562278/original/file-20231128-23-be917n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562278/original/file-20231128-23-be917n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1144&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008524463/paris/">Paris Hilton’s memoir</a> (HarperCollins) is a surprisingly good read. A focus of the book is her time at a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57442175">reform camp in Utah</a>, at which inmates were subjected to brutal punishment to make them socially compliant. Over the past few years, Hilton has been vocal in support of other survivors of the US <a href="https://www.youthrights.org/issues/medical-autonomy/the-troubled-teen-industry/">“troubled teen” industry</a>. </p>
<p>Her accounts of not being believed will resonate with the abused and powerless, no matter their social status. Although the book is ghostwritten by Joni Rodgers, Hilton comes across as thoughtful and empathetic. It’s too easy to dismiss this memoir as just celebrity posturing. Sometimes it’s worth putting aside preconceptions for a glimpse of the person behind them, however imperfectly.</p>
<p><strong>– Alice Gorman is Associate Professor, Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Alexander Howard</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562276/original/file-20231128-29-3w37yb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562276/original/file-20231128-29-3w37yb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562276/original/file-20231128-29-3w37yb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562276/original/file-20231128-29-3w37yb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562276/original/file-20231128-29-3w37yb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562276/original/file-20231128-29-3w37yb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562276/original/file-20231128-29-3w37yb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562276/original/file-20231128-29-3w37yb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Diane Williams is interested in formal constraints, and in seeing how much one can do with seemingly very little. Her fans consider her a living avant-garde icon and the godmother of flash fiction. The short stories in Williams’ eleventh collection – <a href="https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/i-hear-youare-rich-9781915590589">I Hear You’re Rich</a> (Scribe) – are some of her very best. </p>
<p>Alluring and allusive, the 33 beautifully wrought literary miniatures in this volume – the shortest of which is a single sentence of 23 words – are characteristically attuned to what Williams describes as “those exigencies, calamities that underpin everyday life”. Taken together, these distinctive – and sometimes surprisingly comedic – stories confirm Williams is indeed one of the most important US writers working today.</p>
<p><strong>– Alexander Howard is Senior Lecturer in English and Writing, University of Sydney.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Tom Doig</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562262/original/file-20231128-15-crd6wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562262/original/file-20231128-15-crd6wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562262/original/file-20231128-15-crd6wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=925&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562262/original/file-20231128-15-crd6wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=925&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562262/original/file-20231128-15-crd6wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=925&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562262/original/file-20231128-15-crd6wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1163&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562262/original/file-20231128-15-crd6wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1163&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562262/original/file-20231128-15-crd6wm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1163&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Bret Easton Ellis’ latest novel <a href="https://swiftpress.com/book/the-shards/">The Shards</a> (Swift Press) is a revelation. The ageing enfant terrible audaciously mashes up his own back catalogue and personal mythology, combining the Rayban-dangling teen horniness of <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781743038994/">Less Than Zero</a> with the gore, paranoia and indeterminacy of <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781529077155/american-psycho/">American Psycho</a>. </p>
<p>“Bret” drifts through high school in early 1980s Los Angeles, ignoring his girlfriend, lusting after hot guys and spiralling into drug- and writer’s-block-fuelled psychosis; there’s also (at least) one serial killer. The result is all kinds of queer: somehow more emotionally grounded, yet also more untouchably arch, than anything he’s written before.</p>
<p>Plus, there’s a next-level reference to Al Stewart’s 1970s novelty hit <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i46s52JAUE">Year of the Cat</a>.</p>
<p><strong>– Tom Doig is Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Queensland.</strong></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bret-easton-elliss-ambitious-new-novel-of-sex-violence-and-adolescence-in-80s-los-angeles-is-autofiction-for-our-digital-age-193449">Bret Easton Ellis's ambitious new novel of sex, violence and adolescence in 80s Los Angeles is autofiction for our digital age</a>
</strong>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>Carl Rhodes</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562261/original/file-20231128-17-ycuoom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562261/original/file-20231128-17-ycuoom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562261/original/file-20231128-17-ycuoom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562261/original/file-20231128-17-ycuoom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562261/original/file-20231128-17-ycuoom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562261/original/file-20231128-17-ycuoom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1181&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562261/original/file-20231128-17-ycuoom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1181&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562261/original/file-20231128-17-ycuoom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1181&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Susan Neiman’s <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Left+Is+Not+Woke-p-9781509558308">Left is not Woke</a> (Polity) provides a much-needed intervention into the banality of political debates over “wokesim”. In an age of unintelligent political polarisation, Neiman argues convincingly that true progress requires a commitment to a deep solidarity and universal justice – a commitment that both politically correct divisiveness and reactionary woke-baiting undermine. </p>
<p>The book offers a way out of the dead-end thinking that confines politics to simplistic oppositions – affirming, in Neiman’s words, “a belief in the possibility of progress”. Aspirational yet realistic, Neiman’s book urges the left to get back to the primary project of social change and economic justice. </p>
<p><strong>– Carl Rhodes is Dean and Professor of Organization Studies at UTS Business School.</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Carol Lefevre</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562267/original/file-20231128-19-10inyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562267/original/file-20231128-19-10inyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562267/original/file-20231128-19-10inyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562267/original/file-20231128-19-10inyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562267/original/file-20231128-19-10inyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562267/original/file-20231128-19-10inyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562267/original/file-20231128-19-10inyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562267/original/file-20231128-19-10inyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>In Stephanie Bishop’s addictive fourth novel, <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/stephanie-bishop/the-anniversary">The Anniversary</a> (Hachette), her deceptively calm narrator, the writer J.B. Blackwood, books a cruise with her husband Patrick. </p>
<p>Unknown to Patrick, a charismatic filmmaker and J.B.’s one-time professor, his younger wife is about to receive a glittering literary prize. As they board the ship, the reader is aware of impending tragedy, and the storm in which Patrick will be lost overboard. After being questioned by Japanese police, and identifying her husband’s body, J.B. presses on to New York and the awards ceremony. </p>
<p>If uncertainty around Patrick’s fatal plunge hadn’t held me, J.B.’s searing insights into the publishing industry would have kept me turning the pages. Bishop probes the complexities of shared creative lives, the consequences of desire, the long reach of childhood trauma, and the sometimes casualty-strewn path carved out by ambition.</p>
<p><strong>– Carol Lefevre is Visiting Research Fellow, Department of English and Creative Writing, University of Adelaide.</strong></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-unreliable-narrator-and-a-stormy-relationship-propel-stephanie-bishops-moody-new-novel-200438">An unreliable narrator and a stormy relationship propel Stephanie Bishop's moody new novel</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Hugh Breakey</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562589/original/file-20231130-15-l8er5a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562589/original/file-20231130-15-l8er5a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562589/original/file-20231130-15-l8er5a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562589/original/file-20231130-15-l8er5a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562589/original/file-20231130-15-l8er5a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562589/original/file-20231130-15-l8er5a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562589/original/file-20231130-15-l8er5a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562589/original/file-20231130-15-l8er5a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>For me, 2023’s best book was Yascha Mounk’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/712961/the-identity-trap-by-yascha-mounk/">The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time</a> (Allen Lane). Mounk’s book clearly and accessibly explains, explores and critiques an increasingly influential type of progressivism – one that steps away from traditional leftist concerns with class and economic inequality to focus on people’s identities (like race and gender).</p>
<p>Mounk acknowledges this worldview’s many initial insights. However, he argues that these have ultimately created a “trap” that lures in those committed to social justice, only to drive them to a divisive and self-defeating tribalism, intolerance and separatism.</p>
<p><strong>– Hugh Breakey is Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law and President, Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics, Griffith University.</strong></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-new-identity-focused-ideology-has-trapped-the-left-and-undermined-social-justice-217085">How a new identity-focused ideology has trapped the left and undermined social justice</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Peter Mares</h2>
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<p>The best books I read in 2023 were published in 2022, but I recommend both as essential reading in the wake of the No result at this year’s Voice referendum. </p>
<p>Kim Mahood’s <a href="https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/wandering-with-intent-9781925713251">Wandering with Intent</a> (Scribe) is a collection of essays about art, culture, mapping, environment and intercultural (mis)understandings, drawing on Mahood’s long-term collaborations with First Nations peoples in remote Australia over many decades. </p>
<p>Dean Ashenden’s <a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/telling-tennant-s-story">Telling Tennant’s Story</a> (Black Inc.) recounts the unsettling history of the great Australian silence regarding the reality of our violent colonial past. In very different ways, both books advance the cause of truth telling and go to the troubling heart of who we are as a nation.</p>
<p><strong>– Peter Mares is Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University and a moderator with the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership at Monash University.</strong></p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kim-mahoods-wandering-with-intent-redefines-the-australian-frontier-194344">Kim Mahood's Wandering with Intent redefines the Australian frontier</a>
</strong>
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<h2>Jen Webb</h2>
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<p>Sarah Firth’s <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Sarah-Firth-Eventually-Everything-Connects-9781761068416/">Eventually Everything Connects: Eight Essays on Uncertainty</a> (Allen & Unwin) is a sequence of graphic essays about the activities that fill one’s days (and nights), all the anxieties and uncertainties, and the everyday – often dada – moments in a world that whirls on, beyond our control. </p>
<p>The “everything” and the “uncertainty” of the title have a lovely immediacy, with beautifully rendered illustrations, a strong sense of voice and presence, and a sometimes wry, sometimes laugh-out-loud humour. </p>
<p>Reading it felt like a conversation with a remarkable friend, tracing with her all the lines of her thinking, to a kind of understanding that maybe, in some hard-to-articulate way, everything really does connect.</p>
<p><strong>– Jen Webb is Executive Dean, Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra.</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214578/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jen Webb has received funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Clark has received funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edwina Preston has received funding from Australia Council for the Arts and Creative Victoria. She is currently employed by the Australian Education Union</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heidi Norman is affiliated with the University of Technology Sydney where Graham Akhurst is also a colleague.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julienne van Loon receives funding from Creative Victoria. She is affiliated with the Australasian Association of Writing Programs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Haslam receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Mares is a fellow of the Centre for Policy Development and sits on the advisory committee of the Centre for Equitable Housing. He and Dean Ashenden (mentioned in the article) are both contributors to Inside Story magazine but not otherwise acquainted.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tanya Latty receives funding from the Australian Research Council and AgriFutures Australia. She is affiliated with conservation organisation Invertebrates Australia and is president of the Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Doig received funding from Copyright Licensing New Zealand in 2023. He is a board member of the National Young Writers' Festival. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Howard, Alice Gorman, Carl Rhodes, Carol Lefevre, Dennis Altman, Hugh Breakey, Julian Novitz, Matthew Ricketson, Oscar Davis, Tony Hughes-d'Aeth, and Wanning Sun do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Plan your summer reading or catch up on what you missed with The Conversation’s selection of the best books of the year.Jen Webb, Executive Dean (interim) Faculty of Arts and Design, University of CanberraAlexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of SydneyAlice Gorman, Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders UniversityAnna Clark, Professor in Public History, University of Technology SydneyCarl Rhodes, Professor of Organization Studies, University of Technology SydneyCarol Lefevre, Visiting Research Fellow, Department of English and Creative Writing, University of AdelaideDennis Altman, VC Fellow, La Trobe UniversityEdwina Preston, PhD Candidate, The University of MelbourneHeidi Norman, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology SydneyHugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law. President, Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics., Griffith UniversityJulian Novitz, Senior Lecturer, Writing, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of TechnologyJulienne van Loon, Associate Professor in Creative Writing, School of Culture & Communication, The University of MelbourneMatthew Ricketson, Professor of Communication, Deakin UniversityNick Haslam, Professor of Psychology, The University of MelbourneOscar Davis, Indigenous Fellow - Assistant Professor in Philosophy and History, Bond UniversityPeter Mares, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash UniversityTanya Latty, Associate professor, University of SydneyTom Doig, Lecturer in Creative Writing, The University of QueenslandTony Hughes-d'Aeth, Professor, Chair of Australian Literature, The University of Western AustraliaWanning Sun, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2112742023-11-28T19:12:35Z2023-11-28T19:12:35Z‘I can see the characters’: how reading aloud to patients can break through ‘cancer fog’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552877/original/file-20231010-29-928lue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C1182%2C758&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Elliot Robins/author provded</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Escapist fiction is just that: fiction that opens a door, shows the sunlight outside<br></p>
</blockquote>
<p>– Neil Gaiman</p>
<p>If you were going through cancer treatment, wouldn’t you want to escape your reality for a while? Reading a story can offer an alternate world, a chance to catch your breath from the cycle of appointments and treatment, offering imagined companions. Solace is an intangible bedfellow, but a good story weaves a certain kind of magic.</p>
<p>However, a problem arises in the form of “cancer fog”, a frequent but unwelcome side-effect of cancer and its forms of treatment. Cancer fog, also known as <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/cancer-side-effects/changes-in-thinking-and-memory">cancer-related cognitive impairment</a>, can affect problem-solving, concentration, memory, motivation, navigation, keeping track of conversations, visual processing and hence, reading. </p>
<p>Reading to oneself can become frustrating for those receiving cancer treatment, so it’s often abandoned. This means the therapeutic benefits of reading are denied at a time when they could be especially useful.</p>
<p>I previously worked in small public libraries in central Victoria and knew my community well – so well in fact, that I noticed a pattern of regular readers struggling with their reading, then abandoning it, in response to cancer treatment. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bibliotherapy-how-reading-and-writing-have-been-healing-trauma-since-world-war-i-106626">Bibliotherapy: how reading and writing have been healing trauma since World War I</a>
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<p>This pattern and how to address it has not been studied before, so I began to develop and evaluate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2022.2029264">a read-aloud program for people with cancer</a> as part of my PhD. During the trial of this program, people affected by cancer were read to, using material chosen especially for them, by an experienced reader. Mostly, short stories were read, although some narrative non-fiction and poetry was included, alongside humorous tales and vignettes. </p>
<p>No expectations were placed on the participant: they did not have to operate the technology required to listen to audio books, they did not have to travel anywhere (the reader came to their home or local library, or they met over Zoom), they did not have to chat about the stories (although almost all participants chose to), they did not even have to make small talk as the stories provided the structure and focus for the sessions.</p>
<p>These sessions were 45 minutes to an hour long, weekly, for six weeks. I measured wellbeing at the start and end of the program, and participants and family members were interviewed following the final session. All 38 participants reported enjoying the reading program. (One withdrew from the study due to difficulties managing deteriorating health.) </p>
<p>The works included short stories such as Far North by Alexander McCall Smith, many Maeve Binchy stories, including the funny Ten Snaps of Christmas, The Mouse by Saki, Yellow Jacket Jock by Colin Thiele and numerous short stories by Jojo Moyes, Monica McInerney, Jeffrey Archer, Lee Child and Agatha Christie, as well as chapters from James Herriot’s books and Michael Caine’s autobiography,</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557617/original/file-20231105-29-fuln2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman reads to a man sitting up in bed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557617/original/file-20231105-29-fuln2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557617/original/file-20231105-29-fuln2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557617/original/file-20231105-29-fuln2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557617/original/file-20231105-29-fuln2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557617/original/file-20231105-29-fuln2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557617/original/file-20231105-29-fuln2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557617/original/file-20231105-29-fuln2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A good story weaves a certain kind of magic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/side-view-portrait-elderly-couple-enjoying-1397021222">SeventyFour/Shutterstock</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/all-creatures-great-and-small-at-50-why-these-stories-about-a-country-vet-still-charm-today-182325">All Creatures Great and Small at 50: why these stories about a country vet still charm today</a>
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<p>Close to 450 stories were read. All participants appreciated the personalisation of the program and the individual reading sessions; reporting that it felt like they were being nurtured. Many spoke of the joy of being read to. Said one participant, “I felt like a king!” A participant who was having a particularly
distressing experience, said: “It changed my whole attitude for the day”. </p>
<p>Another told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s a very nurturing feeling. It takes you to another world. It’s lovely to listen to someone read […] Really, it feels like a gift. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Participants with cancer fog did report they were
able to focus on the listening even though they had struggled to read (visually) to themselves. Visualising the story was not uncommon. One person told us </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I find, um, it’s like you’re in a movie because you’re
reading it to me, I find it more visual and descriptive in my brain. So I […] can see the characters and it’s like I’m watching it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Both regular readers and non-readers were encouraged to enrol in the program. A consequence of the research was reconnecting people to the joy (and escapism) they can find in reading, even those who thought it was hard or boring or irrelevant to our modern lifestyle.</p>
<h2>‘My last memory is of him chuckling’</h2>
<p>I had the privilege of reading at the bedside of two terminally ill participants in their last days, making a difference to them and their loved ones.</p>
<p>One of my participants was suddenly admitted to hospital mid-way through the program and died not long after.</p>
<p>He had never been a regular reader but his preference had been humorous fiction and I found plenty to
amuse him. My last memory is of him chuckling. One of his relatives sent me a text message with thanks: “I wanted to let you know how much he enjoyed your reading. It was a joy for me too.”</p>
<p>The joy that the reading sessions brought to so many participants, the distraction from pain, illness and worries, the laughter and lightening of their loads, was also a comfort for families and a delight for the person reading too. It is so simple, but so powerful. Hopefully they’ll continue to at least borrow audio books as the next best thing for relaxation and escapism in the midst of cancer fog.</p>
<p>Read-aloud programs offer distraction and escapism and have the potential to relieve or reduce treatment side-effects like nausea, pain, anxiety, depression and loneliness. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-more-support-systems-for-people-who-want-to-work-during-and-after-cancer-treatment-65540">We need more support systems for people who want to work during and after cancer treatment</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The promising <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2023.2231231">preliminary findings from my PhD research</a> suggest these programs would be a valuable addition to the integrative oncology toolkit. Reading together is such a simple thing to do, but it has the potential to make a big difference to emotional wellbeing. </p>
<p>My goal is to see programs like this in cancer centres, hospices and as a part of palliative care programs and my next step is finding how best to make that happen.</p>
<p>If you have someone in your life who is going through cancer, try reading to them. You might just be surprised at what transpires as a result.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Wells does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People receiving cancer treatment can struggle to read. An innovative form of bibliotherapy brought joy and solace, enabling patients to concentrate as listeners, rather than readers.Elizabeth Wells, PhD Candidate, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2177492023-11-15T17:45:16Z2023-11-15T17:45:16ZSaltburn: why you should read Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, the book that inspired the new film<p>Ever since I first read Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited as a master’s students many years ago, I have been smitten. Literary trends and fashions come and go, but I still return to Brideshead every couple of years for sheer reading pleasure.</p>
<p>Undoubtedly Waugh’s most famous novel, Brideshead Revisited was first published in 1945 after the second world war. Its narrative is deeply imbued with nostalgia for an unspoilt, quasi-mythical rural England of stately homes and bright young upper-class people that, it can be argued, never really existed in the first place. </p>
<p>Waugh’s protagonist is Charles Ryder, a young middle-class man with social aspirations, whio meets and befriends the upper-class Sebastian Flyte while at Oxford. Ryder is seduced by the easy charm and carefree attitude of Sebastian, an infatuation that only increases once Ryder accompanies Sebastian to his ancestral home, Brideshead, and meets his family. </p>
<p>This storyline is emulated in English director Emerald Fennel’s new film, Saltburn. The film follows Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), an awkward student who is trying to find his place at Oxford. Quick is taken under the wing of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to spend a memorable summer at his sprawling family estate Saltburn. </p>
<p>A riveting thriller, the film is also deeply nostalgic for an England of stately homes full of hedonistic, bright young things. It shows the timelessness of Waugh’s story and your appreciation for Saltburn will only be strengthened by getting to know the novel that inspired it.</p>
<h2>A lost upper-class world</h2>
<p>For Ryder, life at Brideshead offers glimpses into a world he aspires to – a world of connections, money, and an assured self-confidence that comes from generations of privilege. Seduced by the lifestyle, Ryder fails to see that Flyte battles his own demons and the pressures of his Catholic family. Eventually, Flyte succumbs to alcoholism and the friends lose touch with each other.</p>
<p>Years later, during a cruise, Ryder, now a relatively successful painter and unhappily married, meets Flyte’s sister Julia and the two start an affair. Both plan to divorce their respective partners and start a life together at Brideshead. But, once again, Ryder fails to read the signs.</p>
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<p>Julia, also raised a Catholic, caves in to pressure and renounces the relationship, which her faith judges immoral and wrong. The novel ends as it has started – at a war-time Brideshead which, requisitioned by the army, has fallen into disrepair. Ryder now has also converted to Catholicism and is reminiscing about the past while seeking solace in the chapel.</p>
<p>This brief plot summary does not do justice to a novel that stands out because of its beautiful and haunting prose and its depictions of pre-war British society. Waugh was a gifted writer and the evocation of a lost upper-class world was something particularly close to his own heart. </p>
<p>Brought up in a literary middle-class family – his father was the writer, publisher and literary critic <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Times/1943/Obituary/Arthur_Waugh">Arthur Waugh</a>, his older brother was the novelist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alec-Waugh">Alexander “Alec” Waugh</a> – he had considerable social aspirations. Barred from Eton due to the scandalous publication of his brother’s novel <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1205804.The_Loom_of_Youth">The Loom of Youth</a> (1917), he was educated at Lancing College and Oxford University. </p>
<p>Waugh always maintained that not having been at Eton precluded him from being fully accepted by his many upper-class friends. After a brief – and pretty disastrous – career as a public-school teacher, Waugh turned to writing full-time, both as a journalist and as a novelist. </p>
<p>His early novels stand for through their social satire and modernist style, satirising the fast and furious lifestyle of what he came to term the “<a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Bright-Young-Things/">Bright Young Things</a>” of upper-class society, flitting from entertainment to entertainment.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-1920s-high-society-fashion-pushed-gender-boundaries-through-freaking-parties-205893">How 1920s high society fashion pushed gender boundaries through 'freaking' parties</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Modern invocations</h2>
<p>Waugh converted to Catholicism in 1930 and his writing style changed considerably from that point onwards. His novels became more nostalgic and wistful in tone. </p>
<p>Brideshead is the culmination of that later career stage, bringing together several preoccupations close to Waugh’s own heart. Although it is no longer fashionable to combine an author’s biography with literary criticism, it is certainly possible to say that there is a lot of Waugh himself, albeit probably subconsciously, in the depiction of Charles Ryder who tries so hard – via Sebastian, via Julia, via Catholicism – to become a part of Brideshead and its family. </p>
<p>While Waugh subtitled Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder, giving it the framework of a biographical coming-of-age story, it is, from a 21st-century perspective, particularly rewarding to read the novel in a way that might have been unintended by Waugh. That is as the story of a relentless social climber who will change, chameleon-like, love, interests and affiliations in the pursuit of social status. This 21st century take is also what is being teased out in Fennel’s re-imagined Brideshead, Saltburn. </p>
<p>The stylistic beauty of Brideshead Revisited, its character dynamics and thematic focal points, have been the inspiration for many other novels – Alan Hollinghurst’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jul/22/line-of-beauty-alan-hollinghurst-book-club">The Line of Beauty</a> (2004) or Sarah Waters’ <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/7234875">The Little Stranger</a> (2009), for instance. Despite being published in 1945 and seemingly dealing with societal issues no longer considered of relevance in contemporary society, Brideshead has a perennial influence in British literature and culture – a modern classic that is always worth reading and rereading.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Berberich does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The tale lamenting the loss of a mythical British upper class is as sharp now as ever.Christine Berberich, Reader in Literature, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141542023-11-08T19:10:35Z2023-11-08T19:10:35ZWhen do kids learn to read? How do you know if your child is falling behind?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558231/original/file-20231108-15-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C44%2C5982%2C3943&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/positive-black-boy-reading-fairytale-with-bright-pictures-6437460/">Marta Wave/Pexels </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Learning to read is one of the most important parts of early schooling. But there is ongoing and arguably increasing concern too many Australian children are falling behind in reading. </p>
<p>This year’s NAPLAN results alarmingly show almost <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/naplan-national-results">one in three</a> Australian children don’t meet the expected standard in Year 3.</p>
<p>What are the expectations around when children learn to read and how should their progress be monitored?</p>
<h2>When do children start to learn to read?</h2>
<p>In Australia, school is where formal reading instruction begins. So most children start to learn to read at age five or six.</p>
<p>In some countries children won’t begin to learn to read until seven because they start school later, while in other countries they might start at age four.</p>
<p>There is no optimal age to start to learn to read and beginning the process before a child reaches school age <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reading-minds/201711/precocious-reading">does not necessarily give them an advantage</a>. </p>
<p>But once school begins, children should be taught about the sounds that letters typically make (for example, the letter t makes the “t” sound). After a few months of continuous instruction, they should be able to use the letter sounds they’ve been taught to read simple words that use these same letter sounds. </p>
<p>This doesn’t mean your child should be reading fluently by the end of their first year, but they should be able to remember and use what they have practised at school to read some simple words and text. </p>
<h2>What should I do before they start school?</h2>
<p>Parents can help prepare their child to learn to read before they reach school age.</p>
<p>One of the most reliable predictors of learning to read well is a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10573569.2012.702040">strong spoken vocabulary</a>, so explaining what words mean and discussing a range of topics with your child is an excellent start. </p>
<p>Reading <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10888438.2018.1435663">with your child</a> is another way to boost their vocabulary. Learning to read relies on a foundation of children learning the connections between letters and sounds. So when parents teach children to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01923/full">pay attention to letters and sounds in words</a>, it helps them to learn to break the code.</p>
<p>Having books available to children to explore on their own (and with your help) may also increase their interest in learning to read. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-ways-to-get-the-most-out-of-silent-reading-in-schools-123531">10 ways to get the most out of silent reading in schools</a>
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<h2>Many kids take time to learn</h2>
<p>Even if you have lots of books at home and read together, there is natural variation in how quickly children learn to read. Some children learn the connections between letters and sounds quickly and form memories of written words after only a few attempts at reading them. </p>
<p>But many children take longer to learn and require more practise and support.</p>
<p>The reasons some children don’t learn to read as well as others are often complex. </p>
<p>For example, one child may need more practice making the connections between letters and sounds than others. Another may have limited spoken language skills and need additional support to improve their sensitivity to the sounds of language or develop their understanding of what words mean.</p>
<p>It is important for parents to know that having difficulty with learning to read does not say anything about their child’s intelligence. Reading difficulties can impact children with a <a href="https://psychology.org.au/for-members/publications/inpsych/2021/november-issue-4/specific-learning-disability">wide range</a> of intellectual abilities and intelligence is not a criterion for diagnosing a reading difficulty. </p>
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<img alt="A mother and two young children sit together reading a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Reading with your child can help boost their vocabulary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/children-reading-a-book-with-their-mother-7105613/">Kinder Media/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>How do I know if my child needs more help?</h2>
<p>Schools and teachers should routinely monitor children’s reading progress. This is particularly important during the first three years of school but should continue throughout the primary school years. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.motif.org.au">free and reliable tests</a> to <a href="https://dibels.uoregon.edu/materials/dibels-australasian">assess</a> reading skills. </p>
<p>If a consistent gap is identified within the first year at school, a child should be offered additional help and opportunities for practise both at school and at home. It’s important to note gaps in reading achievement should be filled <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610292/">when the gap is small</a>, rather than taking a “wait and see” approach that allows the gap to widen and for the child to fall further behind.</p>
<p>If you are concerned your child is finding it difficult to learn to read even after several months of intensive additional support, an expert assessment by a reading clinician is an important step. </p>
<p>Parents can find professional help for learning difficulties in Australia by visiting <a href="https://auspeld.org.au/about/">AUSPELD</a>, which supports children and adults with learning difficulties. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/some-kids-with-reading-difficulties-can-also-have-reading-anxiety-what-can-parents-do-215438">Some kids with reading difficulties can also have reading anxiety – what can parents do?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>NAPLAN results alarmingly show almost one in three Australian children don’t meet the expected standard in Year 3.Tina Daniel, Researcher and Lecturer, Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, Australian Catholic UniversitySigny Wegener, Lecturer, Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2162012023-10-25T12:48:10Z2023-10-25T12:48:10ZMinor Detail book: how the language of the past can help us read the present situation in Palestine<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555399/original/file-20231023-19-4omogc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=164%2C8%2C1832%2C1188&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Fitzcarraldo Editions</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On August 12 1949, members of an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) unit at the Nirim outpost in the Negev desert were celebrating the successful establishment of their new camp, close to the recently agreed armistice line with Egypt. What happened at that party was long-hidden, until <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230512034211/https:/www.haaretz.com/2003-10-29/ty-article/i-saw-fit-to-remove-her-from-the-world/0000017f-db62-d856-a37f-ffe2fa5b0000">a 2003 investigation</a> by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz brought to light the horrific events. </p>
<p>Earlier in the day, the unit had captured a Bedouin girl who at that party was gang-raped, then later executed and buried in a shallow grave. Twenty soldiers, including the unit’s commander, were sent to prison for their actions. The investigation inspired the Palestinian writer Adania Shibli’s book <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jun/02/minor-detail-by-adania-shibli-review-between-the-lines-horror">Minor Detail</a> (2020), which tells the story of this event alongside that of a fictional woman investigating the crime decades later in the Palestinian city of Ramallah. </p>
<p>Minor Detail is a sparse but searing novel that shows how the horrors of the past continue to shape Palestinian life today. It has been widely critically acclaimed, including being nominated in the US for the National Book Award and for the International Booker Prize in the UK. It has also won Germany’s prestigious <a href="https://www.litprom.de/en/best-books/liberaturpreis/the-winner-2023/">LiBeraturpreis</a>, which Shibli was supposed to accept at the Frankfurt Book Fair.</p>
<p>Instead, the award’s ceremony was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/13/books/frankfurt-book-fair-cancels-award-adania-shibli.html">cancelled</a> – the organisers of the prize, <a href="https://www.litprom.de/en/best-books/liberaturpreis/the-winner-2023/">LitProm</a>, explained this was because of the situation in Israel and Palestine and plan to reschedule the event for a later date. Over 1,000 authors have <a href="https://arablit.org/2023/10/16/an-open-letter-in-support-of-adania-shiblis-minor-detail-and-palestinian-literary-voices/">signed a letter</a> in protest at the decision and what they felt was the silencing of a Palestinian voice. The book, however, has also received mixed reviews in the German press, with some <a href="https://taz.de/Debatte-um-Autorin-Adania-Shibli/!5965811/">dubbing it antisemitic</a> and anti-Israel. </p>
<p>The award’s cancellation, in my view, <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-palestinian-authors-award-ceremony-has-been-cancelled-at-frankfurt-book-fair-this-sends-the-wrong-signals-at-the-wrong-time-215712">sends the wrong signal</a> by shutting down opportunities for conversation. Shibli’s book offers insight into what’s happening in Gaza today, and the way language has been – and continues to be – used in shaping the conflict.</p>
<h2>A history of dehumanisation</h2>
<p>Part of Minor Detail follows the IDF unit who in 1949 were assigned to securing the new southern borderline between Israel and Egypt, by removing Palestinian “infiltrators”. </p>
<p>A year before the events covered by the book, in 1948, the newly independent state of Israel had expanded to control <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/history/">77% of the Mandate for Palestine territory</a>. Over 700,000 Palestinians were expelled and <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/">permanently displaced</a> – tens of thousands of whom sought refuge in the Gaza Strip. </p>
<p>Israelis know this as the War of Independence. Palestinians call it the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nakba-75-years-after-losing-their-home-the-palestinians-are-still-experiencing-the-catastrophe-205413">Nakba</a> or “catastrophe”.</p>
<p>In Minor Detail, the unit’s commander describes the Negev as “a barren desert, prey to neglect and misuse by Arabs and their animals … Under Israeli control,” he says, the desert will become “a flourishing, civilised region, and a thriving centre of learning, development and culture”. Here, Shibli echoes the words of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, in his 1954 <a href="https://merip.org/2010/09/blueprint-negev/">declaration</a>: “For those who make the desert bloom there is room for hundreds, thousands and even millions.” </p>
<p>Shibli’s choice of words also draws on a tendency of Israel’s politicians and supporters to invoke a language of “progress” (technological and the like) when seeking western support. This is seen most commonly today in celebrations of Israel as a “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0263775820911949?casa_token=7Ia6KXQe_LQAAAAA%3AE9j9Ij0kMDAr8lpNmjnwyieEIfK_8r6pkAvs49X20pn36Rx1OYBV-gsHC9c3XUU_I9O9M8H6ACHh3uw">start-up nation</a>”.</p>
<p>Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking after Hamas’s recent attack and about Israel’s response, <a href="https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/excerpt-from-pm-netanyahu-s-remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-knesset-s-winter-assembly-16-oct-2023">said</a> the war was a “struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle”.</p>
<p>This sort of dehumanising language – widening out from the attack by Hamas to a broader comment on the Palestinian people – is used to justify violence, and is not new to this conflict. Minor Detail shows the longer history of such tactics in Israeli warfare. </p>
<p>Shibli records the commander’s thoughts through close third-person narration. When he sees the girl after the first rape, all he hears from her is “crying and babbling incomprehensible fragments that intertwined with the dog’s ceaseless barking”. The barking and Arabic are one and the same to him. </p>
<p>A connection between Palestinians and animals was made recently by Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, who <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/09/israel-declares-siege-on-gaza-as-hamas-claims-israeli-strikes-killed-captives">declared</a> when enacting a “complete siege” of Gaza that has cut off water, food and fuel, that Israel “[is] fighting against human animals”. </p>
<p>In Minor Detail, dehumanising treatment and language is a precursor to the Palestinian girl’s murder. Following the Hamas attack on Israel, similar language has been used as a precursor to the mass killing of Palestinians. </p>
<h2>Acts of memory</h2>
<p>The second half of Minor Detail is set in the present. Shibli describes the efforts of a Palestinian woman in Ramallah, the West Bank’s de facto capital, to uncover the girl’s story.</p>
<p>Shibli’s protagonist (who is unnamed) is struck by the “minor detail” that the rape took place 25 years before her birth. This single atrocity may seem unremarkable amid the everyday violence of Israel’s occupation, but she believes that minor details are “the only way to arrive at the truth” of a bigger story.</p>
<p>She embarks with great difficulty, given the very real <a href="https://www.btselem.org/topic/freedom_of_movement">restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians</a>, on a trip to Israeli archives in Tel Aviv and the north-west Negev and, finally, the outpost. She sees the result of Israel’s 1948 project of depopulation and replacement as her old maps direct her along roads that no longer exist, and show Palestinian villages that have been erased. She also sees the blooming desert – full of mangoes, avocados and bananas – that testifies to the success of the commander’s project.</p>
<p>The protagonist’s attempt to recover one life lost in the Nakba is ultimately impossible. But this act of memory reminds us of our responsibility to every person killed in Israel and Palestine this month.</p>
<p>By focusing on one story from 1948, Minor Detail shows how current events in Gaza are rooted in the longer history of violence in Israel and Palestine. We must reckon with this past to understand what is taking place now. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Boast does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail is a sparse but searing novel that shows how the horrors of the past continue to shape Palestinian life todayHannah Boast, Chancellor's Fellow, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2154382023-10-19T19:03:21Z2023-10-19T19:03:21ZSome kids with reading difficulties can also have reading anxiety – what can parents do?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553614/original/file-20231013-15-phvzcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5931%2C3924&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/assorted-books-on-book-shelves-1370295/">Element5 Digital/Pexels </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian children are facing some big challenges. NAPLAN <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/naplan-national-results">data shows</a> about one in three students in years 3 to 9 are behind in reading-related skills. It is also estimated about one in seven children have <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/health/children-mental-illness">poor mental health</a>. </p>
<p>Until recently, most people assumed these were separate problems. However, there is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19404158.2022.2054834">growing evidence</a> difficulties with reading and mental health may be related in some children.</p>
<h2>What is reading anxiety?</h2>
<p>Recent studies suggest reading anxiety may be the mental health problem most closely related to reading difficulty.</p>
<p>Reading anxiety is an excessive fear of reading that interferes with everyday life. For example, a child may be so anxious about reading they refuse to go school.</p>
<p>Like <a href="https://theconversation.com/maths-anxiety-is-a-real-thing-here-are-3-ways-to-help-your-child-cope-200822">maths anxiety</a>, reading anxiety can affect both children and adults. In one of our very recent studies (not yet published), we discovered 50% of children with reading difficulties appeared to have reading anxiety. That equates to around one in ten children at primary school.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/maths-anxiety-is-a-real-thing-here-are-3-ways-to-help-your-child-cope-200822">'Maths anxiety' is a real thing. Here are 3 ways to help your child cope</a>
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<h2>How does reading anxiety happen?</h2>
<p>Why might a child who struggles with reading also develop reading anxiety? Current <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19404158.2022.2054834">evidence suggests</a> the following hypothesis: </p>
<p>When a child first starts school, many children in their class will not read well. However, after a few months of reading lessons, most will start to improve. A few will not. Many of those children will get negative feedback about their reading from others (such as their teachers, parents and other students) or even from themselves. </p>
<p>They will then start to believe they are poor readers. Researchers call this a “poor reading self-concept”. </p>
<p>If a child believes they are bad at reading, they may start to feel worried or scared about reading, particularly in front of other people. </p>
<p>This anxiety can make it hard for them to concentrate in reading classes. Or they find a way to avoid going to reading classes at all, such as playing up in class so they get kicked out of the room.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young boy reads a book, using his finger as a guide." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children may become fearful of reading in front of other people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/BPXSTl_HBhk">Michal Parzuchowski/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A negative cycle</h2>
<p>It is important to note these avoidance behaviours are an entirely reasonable response to reading anxiety. </p>
<p>Anxiety is a fight or flight response that evolved to keep humans alive. If you are facing a lion who wants to eat you (or you need to read in front of the class), the last thing you need to do is concentrate hard on learning how the lion’s growl sounds correspond to his paw movements (or how different letters correspond to different speech sounds). </p>
<p>What you really need to do is run away.</p>
<p>The trouble is, when it comes to reading, running away means not attending, or concentrating in, reading classes. This will make everything worse: your reading, your reading self-concept and your reading anxiety. This sets up a cycle of failure that gets stronger over time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anxiety-can-affect-academic-performance-here-are-10-things-parents-and-teachers-can-do-to-relieve-the-pressure-168837">Anxiety can affect academic performance. Here are 10 things parents and teachers can do to relieve the pressure</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Is it possible to break this cycle?</h2>
<p>A couple of recent studies suggest we can help reading anxiety. </p>
<p>In 2021, a <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/10987/">case intervention study</a> gave eight Australian primary-school children 12 weeks of very intensive and targeted reading and anxiety intervention. All children showed significant improvements in their targeted reading and anxiety symptoms.</p>
<p>A 2020 <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/bjep.12401?casa_token=9c_QW4h2r6IAAAAA:ZbqB7NmohqK7SNuDxErgLOrUtoIVZxH9S7XQ4i7HN8ewcYeDZAddxQggjmHZgsAWNg_hYlvY67EQ2zUA">Australian study</a> delivered reading self-concept training to 40 children with reading difficulties. As a group, these children showed significant reductions in their non-productive coping strategies (such as procrastination or avoidance).</p>
<p>These results suggest it is possible to improve the mental health of children with reading difficulties with intensive and targeted training. But many more studies are needed before we can be sure. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young girl lies on a towel on the grass, reading a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Initial studies suggest it is possible to break the cycle between reading and anxiety.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/IViUPh1dpLE">Skylar Zilka/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What can parents do?</h2>
<p>What can parents do if they suspect their child has problems with reading anxiety? </p>
<p>First, it is important to know both the reading and mental health problems need to be treated by experts. It is not something parents can do alone at home. </p>
<p>However, a parent can help identify if a child needs help. As a starting point, they could ask their child’s teacher, or a reading clinician, to screen their child for problems with reading and reading anxiety. A good free screen for reading is the CC2 word <a href="https://www.motif.org.au/cc2">reading test</a>. A good free screen for reading anxiety is the <a href="https://www.motif.org.au/rat">Reading Anxiety Test or RAT</a>.</p>
<p>If the results suggest a child has problems with both reading and reading anxiety, then teachers and reading clinicians can help parents find people to help. Not many people are experts in both reading and anxiety. But good clinicians will happily work together to support the diverse needs of children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215438/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Genevieve McArthur has received funding from various funding bodies including the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. She works for the not-for-profit Dyslexia SPELD Foundation as well as the Australian Catholic University. </span></em></p>There is growing evidence suggesting difficulties with reading and mental health may be related in some children.Genevieve McArthur, Professor at the Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141292023-10-10T22:22:37Z2023-10-10T22:22:37ZReading disabilities are a human rights issue — Saskatchewan joins calls to address barriers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551855/original/file-20231003-23-co45y4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C352%2C7249%2C4219&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inquiries into how reading is taught across Canada join efforts in other countries to ensure educators are supporting students' rights to effective reading instruction. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/reading-disabilities-are-a-human-rights-issue-saskatchewan-joins-calls-to-address-barriers" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As fall school routines settle down, for many families whose children struggle with reading, it could mean another year of stress and financial burden as they navigate school systems to advocate for support.</p>
<p>Findings in the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission’s (SHRC) <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9977256/sask-human-rights-report-reading-disability-supports/">September 2023 report</a>, “<a href="https://saskatchewanhumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/EQUITABLE-EDUCATION-for-Students-Reading-Disabilities-Report-2023.pdf">Equitable Education for Students With Reading Disabilities in Saskatchewan’s K to 12 Schools: A Systemic Investigation Report</a>” capture the social and financial challenges faced by individuals and caregivers affected by dyslexia, and also the effects on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1531">mental health</a>. Families share difficulties they encounter in obtaining the necessary support and interventions in Saskatchewan school systems.</p>
<p>In 2020, the SHRC launched an investigation following a group complaint. Families of children diagnosed with <a href="https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-at-a-glance/">dyslexia</a> alleged their children were discriminated against based on disability and were not provided access to equitable education. </p>
<p>The report summarizes <a href="https://www.ldac-acta.ca/downloads/pdf/advocacy/Education%20Implications%20-%20Moore%20Decision.pdf">legal precedents</a> outlining <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/canada/employment-social-development/migration/documents/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/E0-2.pdf">government and school division</a> responsibilities relating to the education of students with disabilities, and calls for changes in teacher and student education. </p>
<h2>Multiple provinces investigating reading</h2>
<p>Saskatchewan isn’t the first province to consider children’s human rights and reading instruction. The Ontario Human Rights Commission released its “<a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report">Right to Read</a>” inquiry report in February 2022. An <a href="http://www.manitobahumanrights.ca/education/pdf/specialprojects/termsofreference.pdf">inquiry</a> in Manitoba is currently underway.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan inquiry gained input from stakeholders including students, families, teachers, school administrators and other professionals via discussions, and also gathered input through surveys. One hundred and eighty-three people provided information through a parent/student survey and 293 people responded to a survey for educational and medical professionals. The inquiry also conducted a review of current research related to reading instruction.</p>
<p>The report identifies 17 recommendations for schools and school systems, the province’s education ministry and teacher education programs to consider, including issues related to classroom instruction, provincial curriculum and teacher preparation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A school building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Less than 70 per cent of Grade 3 students in Saskatchewan are reading at grade level.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reading landscape in Saskatchewan</h2>
<p>It is estimated that <a href="http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/46482/1/13.Shane%20R.%20Jimerson.pdf#page=225">95 per cent of children</a> can develop word reading skills when provided with the right support. </p>
<p>Saskatchewan students consistently fall short. In the most <a href="https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/government-structure/ministries/education#annual-reports">recent annual report from the</a> <a href="https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/121656/formats/140952/download">Ministry of Education</a>, only 68 per cent of Grade 3 students are reading at grade level.
The SHRC report notes “because of marginalization and structural inequality,
racialized students, Indigenous students, Métis students, multilingual students and students from low-income backgrounds are at increased risk for reading difficulties.” The report calls for improvements to support all equity-deserving groups and consultation with Indigenous community members in education and learning.</p>
<p>Previous attempts to increase reading scores have been addressed by <a href="https://saskschoolboards.ca/wp-content/uploads/provincial-CYCLE-2-ESSP-Level-1-Matrix-and-A3-for-Web.pdf">the province</a>, however, provincial reading data remains relatively stable. </p>
<p>Current <a href="https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/120477/formats/139300/download">Saskatchewan provincial education plans</a> don’t include specific actions and goals related to early reading proficiency. </p>
<p>This is despite wide recognition that reading proficiency in the early years is strongly related to <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf">later achievement</a> and <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED518818.pdf">graduation rates,</a> and is a critical period for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2003.9651913">early intervention</a> to prevent and address reading difficulties.</p>
<h2>Reading instruction</h2>
<p>The SHRC report outlines two perspectives on reading instruction. “<a href="http://pamelasnow.blogspot.com/2017/05/balanced-literacy-instructional.html">Balanced literacy</a>” is the type of instruction common to Saskatchewan classrooms, guided by the provincial curricula and <a href="https://saskatchewanreads.wordpress.com/acknowledgements/">companion documents</a>. </p>
<p>This approach influences the types of books students read, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2013.857970">assessments</a> used to monitor reading development and <a href="https://nicolejosephlaw.com/evidence-based-reading-instruction/">intervention programs</a>. </p>
<p>As the Saskatchewan report notes, the approach is about balancing “the importance of comprehending the meaning of written language … <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3314">with the acquisition of a range of skills and knowledges</a>.” These could include phonics lessons (how letters represent sounds). However, in practice, students are often taught that when they come to a word they don’t know they should guess, look at the picture, skip the word or think about what makes sense based on context.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher seen with book and children." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Debates around best approaches to teaching reading have a long history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“<a href="https://dyslexialibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/file-manager/public/1/Spring%202019%20Final%20Moats%20p9-11.pdf">Structured literacy</a>” is an alternate approach. It <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059917750160">differs</a> from balanced literacy in that necessary skills for reading are taught explicitly. Students are introduced to these skills through a systematic progression from easier to more complex. </p>
<h2>Learning letter patterns</h2>
<p>This approach is recognized as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2014.906010">more effective</a> than balanced literacy, particularly for students who are struggling to develop reading skills. Students learn to read from texts that contain words made up of letter patterns they have been taught. Instead of guessing or skipping unknown words, they are encouraged to sound them out using their knowledge of the letter-sound connections.</p>
<p>The report says many educators surveyed “believed the implementation of a universal, province-wide, scientific approach to reading would be better for students as well as teachers.”</p>
<p>This refers to following the most recent <a href="https://www.thereadingleague.org/what-is-the-science-of-reading/">scientific evidence</a> guiding structured literacy approaches. As one educator quoted in the report notes, this approach <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2003.9651913">limits the number of students</a> who will require additional support.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reading-struggles-dont-wait-to-advocate-for-your-child-130986">Reading struggles? Don't wait to advocate for your child</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The call for Saskatchewan to embrace a structured literacy approach was one of the most common themes to emerge from the inquiry. </p>
<h2>Updating curricula</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271">Debates</a> around reading instruction have a long history. Growing interest in how reading is taught has led to <a href="https://www.shankerinstitute.org/read">legislative changes</a> in some U.S. states. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/how-to-improve-our-schools/how-mississippi-reformed-reading-instruction">Mississippi</a> passed the Literacy-Based Promotion Act in 2013. In the state, significant funding is used for teacher training on science-based reading instruction, literacy coaches, screening and early interventions and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/education/learning/mississippi-schools-literacy.html">results</a> show that reading scores in the state have improved significantly.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan report suggests updating provincial curricula, echoing a recommendation in the OHRC Right to Read. </p>
<p>Ontario responded with a new <a href="https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/elementary-language">language curriculum</a> and a <a href="https://onlit.org/">literacy hub</a> to support educators in adopting a new approach to reading instruction. </p>
<p><a href="https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/resource-files/Six%20Pillars%20of%20Effective%20Reading%20Instruction.pdf">Nova Scotia</a>, <a href="https://curriculum.learnalberta.ca/curriculum/en/s/laneng">Alberta</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/dominic-cardy-literacy-reading-gene-ouellette-mount-allison-new-brunsiwck-1.6732875">New Brunswick</a> and the <a href="https://www.fnsb.ca/literacy">First Nation School Board</a> in Yukon are also embracing instructional practices to include explicit and systematic instruction of foundational skills.</p>
<h2>Teacher preparation</h2>
<p>The SHRC commits to engaging with stakeholders. These include the faculties of education at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina. </p>
<p>Recently, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/raising-readers-writers-and-spellers/202309/elite-universities-call-for-change-in-reading#">two top universities for teacher education</a> respectively in the United States (Teachers College, Columbia University) and Australia (La Trobe University), moved away from decades of instruction based on the balanced literacy model to align programs with current research. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dyslexiacanada.org/en/blog/dyslexia-canada-applauds-new-shrc-report-for-championing-equity-in-education">Advocates</a> support the recommendations proposed in the report and view them as an important step for students with dyslexia. </p>
<p>The SHRC suggests this is an initial stage in continued collaboration with stakeholders to further address issues related to the educational rights of children in Saskatchewan.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214129/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Fraser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A report from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission outlines government and school responsibilities for educating students with disabilities and calls for changes in reading instruction.Andrea Fraser, Assistant Professor Faculty of Education, Mount Saint Vincent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145462023-10-05T12:33:30Z2023-10-05T12:33:30ZMillions of US children have mediocre reading skills, but engaged parents and a committed school curriculum can help<p><em>Reading ability among U.S. students <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cnb/reading-performance">remained low in 2022</a>, with 37% of fourth graders and 30% of eighth graders scoring below the basic proficiency levels for reading set by the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/annualreports/overview">National Assessment of Educational Progress</a>.</em> </p>
<p><em>Although the COVID-19 school shutdowns are responsible for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/reading-third-grade-phonics-bd9a14dd348d88c2b11e2dce38829a8e">some of the learning loss</a>, the numbers weren’t particular good <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cnb/reading-performance">prior to the pandemic</a>, either – reading scores for U.S. students have been low for decades.</em> </p>
<p><em>SciLine interviewed <a href="https://ehe.osu.edu/directory?id=piasta.1">Dr. Shayne Piasta</a>, a professor of reading and literacy at The Ohio State University and a faculty associate at the <a href="https://crane.osu.edu/">Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy</a>. Piasta discussed the various methods of reading instruction and how to get kids to love it.</em> </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/868398121" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Dr. Shayne Piasta discusses ways to help schoolchildren learn to read.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Below are some highlights from the discussion. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.</em></p>
<p><strong>What is meant by the ‘science of reading’? And what are the misconceptions?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Shayne Piasta:</strong> The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=cnkJ6VvDr2M">science of reading</a> refers to the accumulated knowledge base we have from scientific research about the reading process, its components, how reading skills develop and how we can best support those who are learning to read. </p>
<p>One of the misconceptions I see is that the science of reading is equated with <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/phonics-and-decoding/articles/phonics-instruction">phonics instruction</a>. </p>
<p>But the science of reading is a knowledge base, not a specific approach. Phonics instruction is a specific approach, whereby one is explicitly and intentionally teaching children all of those important links between letters and sounds, both at an individual letter level – like learning the alphabet – and at higher skill levels, such as learning about some complex spelling conventions that we have in the English language. </p>
<p>Although phonics instruction is a necessary component in learning to read, phonics instruction alone, without attending to other key reading components, such as language, comprehension, and concept and background knowledge, is insufficient. </p>
<p><strong>What critical components are needed for a reading curriculum to be successful?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Shayne Piasta:</strong> First and foremost, I would expect a reading program <a href="https://irrc.education.uiowa.edu/blog/2023/03/scope-and-sequence-what-it-and-how-do-educators-use-it-guide-instruction">to have a scope and sequence</a>, meaning there is predetermined content of what’s going to be covered. And then that it’s in a particular order, often building from more simple skills or concepts to more complex ones. </p>
<p>This might apply to phonics instruction, where we’re going from simple letter sound correspondences and building up to more complex associations between letters, spelling patterns and how words are pronounced. </p>
<p>Any successful reading program <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/classroom/scope-and-sequence">should have a scope and sequence</a>. It should definitely have it for the phonics component, but it should have it for other components as well. </p>
<p><strong>What role does background knowledge play in learning to read?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Shayne Piasta:</strong> We’re learning more and more about how critical concept knowledge and background knowledge are for successful reading. </p>
<p>To understand the meaning being conveyed by text, which is the ultimate goal, children use the information they already know to make sense of text. A famous example involves a study in which children read a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.80.1.16">written passage about baseball</a>. Children who knew a lot about baseball best understood the passage, regardless of reading ability. </p>
<p>This highlights the role of concept and background knowledge as foundations for understanding text meaning, and thus, reading comprehension. </p>
<p>Any reading curriculum should have opportunities for children to build those skills – to learn about our world, to make connections with the world, to make connections across different sources and types of information. This is particularly important given the diversity of classrooms. Educators cannot assume that children share certain knowledge or backgrounds.</p>
<p>Teachers need to provide opportunities to discuss and learn about concepts that children will read about. This includes topics like baseball as well as academic concepts like photosynthesis. And then they bring that conceptual and background knowledge with them when they’re going to read a new piece about a certain topic so they can actually make sense of it. </p>
<p>Again, it’s not phonics only. It’s phonics and these opportunities to support knowledge building as well as language skills. </p>
<p><strong>Are any approaches especially effective for children from marginalized backgrounds?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Shayne Piasta:</strong> There are many evidence-based practices for building language for both children who speak English only and those who are English learners. This includes exposing children to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/2015_AJSLP-14-0105">more complex grammar during conversations</a> and <a href="https://www.texasldcenter.org/teachers-corner/five-research-based-ways-to-teach-vocabulary">using routines</a> to improve awareness of new vocabulary words. </p>
<p>The science of reading applies to all learners. Most practices that we would recommend are going to be helpful for students from a range of different backgrounds. That being said, it’s important to be able to identify the strengths and the <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/video-differentiating-instruction-its-not-as-hard-as-you-think/2018/09">learning needs of individual children</a>. </p>
<p><strong>How can parents support kids who are learning to read?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Shayne Piasta:</strong> For parents, I would recommend focusing on <a href="https://www.nwea.org/blog/2022/parent-strategies-for-improving-their-childs-reading-and-writing/">creating positive literacy environments at home</a>. That is, having children see you reading, having children see you writing, and being clear about how literacy plays a role in your everyday life – not just having storybook time together or reading together, but doing activities like making grocery lists together. </p>
<p>Or maybe you could point out, “Hey, I’m reading these instructions so I can put together this piece of Ikea furniture.” So you’re really highlighting all of the important roles that literacy plays in daily life. In doing so, you can help children build <a href="https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/make-reading-fun-these-3-easy-tips.html">positive connections with those reading opportunities</a> so that it’s fun, engaging and something they want to do.</p>
<p><em>Watch the <a href="https://www.sciline.org/social-sciences/science-of-reading/">full interview</a> to hear more.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.sciline.org/">SciLine</a> is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214546/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The author's work has been funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, National Institutes of Health, and Spencer Foundation. </span></em></p>Low levels of literacy cost the US more than $2 trillion every year.Shayne Piasta, Professor of Reading and Literacy, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2134362023-09-29T12:23:41Z2023-09-29T12:23:41ZSci-fi books are rare in school even though they help kids better understand science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551054/original/file-20230928-25-qakotc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=61%2C33%2C4462%2C3953&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sci-fi books are popular choices.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/surprised-boy-watching-colorful-characters-fly-out-royalty-free-image/546821353?phrase=sci+fi+books+kids&adppopup=true"> John M Lund Photography Inc./Stone via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Science fiction can lead people <a href="https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18040208">to be more cautious about the potential consequences of innovations</a>. It can help people <a href="https://theconversation.com/sci-fi-movies-are-the-secret-weapon-that-could-help-silicon-valley-grow-up-105714">think critically about the ethics of science</a>. Researchers have also found that sci-fi serves as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018780946">positive influence on how people view science</a>. Science fiction scholar <a href="https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/csicsery-ronay_istvan">Istvan Csicsery-Ronay</a> calls this “<a href="https://www.weslpress.org/9780819570925/the-seven-beauties-of-science-fiction/">science-fictional habits of mind</a>.”</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/meet.2008.1450450345">Scientists</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2015-Feb-1">engineers</a> have reported that their childhood encounters with science fiction framed their thinking about the sciences. Thinking critically about science and technology is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1175/1/012156">an important part of education in STEM – or science, technology, engineering and mathematics</a>.</p>
<h2>Complicated content?</h2>
<p>Despite the potential benefits of an early introduction to science fiction, <a href="https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/E/Equipping-Space-Cadets">my own research on science fiction for readers under age 12</a> has revealed that librarians and teachers in elementary schools treat science fiction as a genre that works best for certain cases, like reluctant readers or kids who like what they called “weird,” “freaky” or “funky” books. </p>
<p>Of the 59 elementary teachers and librarians whom I surveyed, almost a quarter of them identified themselves as science fiction fans, and nearly all of them expressed that science fiction is just as valuable as any other genre. Nevertheless, most of them indicated that while they recommend science fiction books to individual readers, they do not choose science fiction for activities or group readings.</p>
<p>The teachers and librarians explained that they saw two related problems with science fiction for their youngest readers: low availability and complicated content. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl sits in a library reading a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551057/original/file-20230928-27-822zw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Realistic fiction books outnumber sci-fi books.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/portrait-of-a-young-school-child-black-reader-in-a-royalty-free-image/1496939521?phrase=sci+fi++kids+library&adppopup=true">Lorado/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Why sci-fi books are scarce in schools</h2>
<p>Several respondents said that there simply are not as many science fiction books available for elementary school students. To investigate further, I <a href="https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/E/Equipping-Space-Cadets">counted the number of science fiction books available</a> in 10 randomly selected elementary school libraries from across the United States. Only 3% of the books in each library were science fiction. The rest of the books were: 49% nonfiction, 25% fantasy, 19% realistic fiction and 5% historical fiction. While historical fiction also seems to be in low supply, science fiction stands out as the smallest group.</p>
<p>When I spoke to a small publisher and several authors, they confirmed that science fiction for young readers is not considered a profitable genre, and so those books are rarely acquired. Due to the perception that many young readers do not like science fiction, it is not written, published and distributed as often.</p>
<p>With fewer books to choose from, the teachers and librarians said that they have difficulty finding options that are not too long and complicated for group readings. One explained: “I have to appeal to broad ability levels in chapter book read-aloud selections. These books typically have to be shorter, with more simple plots.” Another respondent explained that they believe “the kind of suppositions sci-fi is based on to be difficult for younger children to grasp. We do read some sci-fi in our middle grade book club.”</p>
<h2>A question of maturity</h2>
<p>Waiting for students to get older before introducing them to science fiction is a fairly common approach. <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/author/susan-fichtelberg/">Susan Fichtelberg</a> – a longtime librarian – wrote a <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/encountering-enchantment-9798216079095/">guide to teen fantasy and science fiction</a>. In it, she recommends age 12 as the prime time to start. Other children’s literature experts have speculated whether children under 12 <a href="https://keywords.nyupress.org/childrens-literature/essay/science-fiction/">have sufficient knowledge to comprehend science fiction</a>.</p>
<p>Reading researchers agree that comprehending complex texts is <a href="https://greatminds.org/english/blog/witwisdom/the-science-of-reading-what-is-prior-knowledge-and-why-is-it-important">easier when the reader has more background knowledge</a>. Yet, when I read some science fiction picture books with elementary school students, none of the children struggled to understand the stories. The most active child in my study often used his knowledge of “Star Wars” to interpret the books. While background knowledge can mean children’s knowledge of science, it also includes exposure to a genre. The more a reader is exposed to science fiction stories, the <a href="https://christopher-mckitterick.com/Essays/protocol.htm">better they understand how to read them</a>.</p>
<h2>A matter of choice</h2>
<p>Science fiction does not need to include detailed science or outlandish premises to offer valuable ideas. Simple picture books like <a href="https://worldcat.org/en/title/60590019">“Farm Fresh Cats” by Scott Santoro</a> rely on familiar ideas like farms and cats to help readers reconsider what is familiar and what is alien. <a href="https://worldcat.org/en/title/1122792103">“The Barnabus Project” by the Fan Brothers</a> is both a simple escape adventure story and a story about the ethics of genetic experimentation on animals.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A small girl on a foot stool reaches for a book on a library shelf." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551058/original/file-20230928-15-abzpvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1011&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some educators are hesitant to introduce sci-fi books to young children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-school-girl-taking-library-book-off-shelf-royalty-free-image/81715011?phrase=sci+fi++kids+library&adppopup=true">Dave & Les Jacobs/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The good news is that elementary school students are choosing science fiction regardless of what adults might think they can or cannot understand. I found that the science fiction books in those 10 elementary school libraries were checked out at a higher rate per book than all of the other genres. Science fiction had 1-2 more checkouts per book, on average, than the other genres.</p>
<p>Using the lending data from these libraries, I built a statistical model that predicted that it is 58% more likely for one of the science fiction books to be checked out in these libraries than one of the fantasy books. The model predicted that a science fiction book is over twice as likely to be checked out than books in any of the other genres. In other words, since the children did not have nearly as many science fiction books to choose from, their readership was <a href="https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/E/Equipping-Space-Cadets">heavily concentrated on a few titles</a>.</p>
<p>Children may discover science fiction on their own, but adults can do more to normalize the genre and provide opportunities for whole classes to become familiar with it. Encouraging children to explore science fiction may not guarantee science careers, but children deserve to learn from science fiction to help them navigate their increasingly high-tech world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213436/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Midkiff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite their scarcity, science fiction books are highly sought after by elementary school students.Emily Midkiff, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Leadership, and Professional Practice, University of North DakotaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2138322023-09-25T12:32:07Z2023-09-25T12:32:07ZHenry VIII’s favourite fool – a new book draws a portrait of the man the Tudor court loved to laugh at<p>Henry VIII is notorious for his willingness to lop off the heads of anyone who crossed him, including a string of former friends and intimates –even two of his wives. So you might think that, to keep your head on your shoulders at his court, you would need to have your wits about you and to watch your tongue. </p>
<p>And yet, one figure who sailed on apparently effortlessly through Henry’s bloody later years and the equally violent reigns of his successors was Will Somers, the court fool.</p>
<p>Somers died peacefully under Queen Elizabeth I after a long and successful career at the Tudor court. It is this survivor’s tale that the Swedish historian Peter Andersson set out to tell in <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691250168/fool">Fool: In Search of Henry VIII’s Closest Man</a>. </p>
<p>In writing a book about Somers, Andersson faces two pretty serious problems. One, we know almost nothing about Somers. We have a series of off-hand mentions, hackneyed anecdotes and accountants’ notes, none of which add up to much. </p>
<p>Secondly, what we do know is that his purpose was to make people laugh – but Tudor comedy has, to put it kindly, not aged well. The punchline to a number of the jokes remembered here is that a man pisses in his pants. As Andersson says rather apologetically, “you had to be there” – but perhaps you’re glad you weren’t.</p>
<p>Conjuring up a 200-page book out of what little there is on Somers is a tall order, and at times the performance sags. Andersson does invoke quite a lot of historical and literary scholarship to interpret Somers’ world – and while it is learned it is about as entertaining as a Tudor joke-book. He has to cast his net pretty wide, searching not only for solid facts, of which there are precious few, but for “things that ring true”, an alarmingly capacious category.</p>
<p>Still, he’s on to something. The court fool was, as he shows us, a weird category of being. Quite distinct from the clown, who sets out to make people laugh and is in on the joke, the point of the fool was that he stumbles into comedy by mistake. Anyone who wants to know about this oddly central figure in Tudor life will find Andersson’s book worthwhile.</p>
<h2>The king’s pet</h2>
<p>Like many court fools, Somers had a reputation for being hot-tempered, sometimes lashing out at the wrong person when tormented. He also, more unusually, had a reputation for falling asleep at inopportune moments. Neither of those things would be tolerated for a moment in a normal courtier, which is presumably the point. He was an anti-courtier, his misbehaviour indulged like a pet’s. Indeed, there is a story that says he slept with the king’s spaniels. He was, the account books tell us, only an intermittent presence at court, since presumably little foolery goes a long way.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Portrait of Henry VIII and his family." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548850/original/file-20230918-29605-8u04z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548850/original/file-20230918-29605-8u04z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548850/original/file-20230918-29605-8u04z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548850/original/file-20230918-29605-8u04z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548850/original/file-20230918-29605-8u04z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548850/original/file-20230918-29605-8u04z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548850/original/file-20230918-29605-8u04z6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">William Somers is depicted on the far right of this portrait of Henry VIII and his family.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Sommers#/media/File:Family_of_Henry_VIII_c_1545.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>Somers was, the portraits tell us, beardless like a boy, with his hair close-cropped like a madman. Sadly, he wouldn’t have worn the cockscomb headdress with bells that we imagine, but expensive and distinctive clothes were made for him, to mark him out visually from the normal humans at court. </p>
<p>Somers mostly wore green and his clothes were apparently covered in brightly coloured silk buttons, which were bought for him by the hundred. As that suggests, he wasn’t there chiefly for his witty banter, but to be looked at, laughed at and mocked.</p>
<p>And, it seems, kicked and punched. This was not sophisticated comedy. One of the later sources has Somers say that the king “gave me such a box on the ear, that struck me clean through three chambers, down four pair of stairs, fell over five barrels, into the bottom of the cellar”. This is Looney Tunes stuff.</p>
<p>As Ian Holm’s Napoleon says in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081633/characters/nm0000453">Terry Gilliam’s film Time Bandits</a>: comedy is about “little things hitting each other”. No wonder Henry VIII’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Heywood">court musician and playwright John Heywood</a> had sour grapes about his own commissions drying up while the court still guffawed at this sort of thing. It would be like Shakespeare being sacked and replaced with a troupe of dwarf-wrestlers.</p>
<h2>Nobody’s fool</h2>
<p>But what made Somers so memorable was that courtiers could never quite make up their minds about him. Was he, they repeatedly asked, truly a “natural fool”, or was he an “artificial fool”? Was the joke on him, or on them? Although Andersson’s book is heavy going at times, this central puzzle animates it and keeps the reader guessing to the end.</p>
<p>Take Somers’ most famous witticism. One day when the king was lamenting his poverty, Somers told him it was because he employed so many “frauditors, conveyors and deceivers”. Was that play on the words “auditors, surveyors and receivers” something that someone had taught him, like teaching a parrot to swear? Or was he sharper than he let on?</p>
<p>In the end, Andersson doesn’t buy it. He reckons Somers really was a “natural fool”, “saying what came into his mind, now and then inadvertently stumbling upon a humorous phrasing or unwittingly saying something that could be imbued with comedy”. I’m not so sure. If those who knew him couldn’t make up their mind what he was, it seems foolhardy for us to make a judgement. </p>
<p>By far the best-attested saying of Somers’, for which we have three independent witnesses, is that he would abide by nothing that he had said: warning us, in effect, not to believe a word from him. It’s worth remembering as you read this book. Is the joke on him, or on us?</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alec Ryrie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The court would laugh at rather than with the fool.Alec Ryrie, Professor of the History of Christianity, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2133112023-09-21T15:09:17Z2023-09-21T15:09:17ZHow BookTok trends are influencing what you read – whether you use TikTok or not<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549334/original/file-20230920-27-dsmzsn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C12%2C8218%2C5475&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/creative-collage-portrait-huge-hand-black-2170471681">Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve been in a bookshop recently, you may have seen references to BookTok – whether it’s stickers on books or whole tables dedicated to “BookTok favourites”.</p>
<p>BookTok is a community on the social media app TikTok. Creators make short videos recommending, reviewing, or just generally chatting about books. This community has become one of the biggest on the platform and its hashtag (<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/BookTok">#BookTok</a>) has been used on over <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/colleen-hoover-booktok-bestsellers">60 billion videos</a>. BookTok’s influence over the publishing industry and what young people are reading is staggering.</p>
<p>Online reading communities have been around for a while. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/">Goodreads</a> – a social cataloguing platform where readers can follow friends and authors, get book recommendations and read user-submitted reviews – was launched in 2007, and there are other communities on sites such as YouTube (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/booktube">BookTube</a>) and Instagram (<a href="https://readerhaven.com/how-to-start-a-bookstagram/">Bookstagram</a>). </p>
<p>However, none of these sites seem to have captured the attention of readers, publishers and retailers quite like BookTok. Caroline Hardman, a literary agent at Hardman & Swainson, corroborates this, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/aug/06/i-cant-stress-how-much-booktok-sells-teen-literary-influencers-swaying-publishers">telling The Guardian</a>: “It’s having a strong effect on what publishers look for.”</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
_
_You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/friends-with-benefits-what-a-sex-and-relationship-therapist-wants-you-to-know-210854utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Friends with benefits – what a sex and relationship therapist wants you to know</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/girl-math-may-not-be-smart-financial-advice-but-it-could-help-women-feel-more-empowered-with-money-211780utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">‘Girl math’ may not be smart financial advice, but it could help women feel more empowered with money</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/love-or-hate-tiktoks-viral-bottle-smashing-trend-a-neuroscientist-explains-what-that-says-about-your-brain-211963utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Love or hate TikTok’s viral bottle-smashing trend? A neuroscientist explains what that says about your brain</a></em></p>
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<h2>Is BookTok’s impact positive or negative?</h2>
<p>The main demographic of BookTok creators, viewers and authors is <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2023/01/02/never-underestimate-the-power-of-booktok/">young women</a>. While books popular with young women have gained immense broad popularity before – for example, the <a href="https://stepheniemeyer.com/the-twilight-saga/">Twilight saga</a> (from 2005) by Stephenie Meyer, and the paranormal romance fever that followed – young women have rarely been taken seriously as either critics and readers.</p>
<p>But times are changing. The books most popular with BookTok – such as romance, fantasy and the hybrid genre “romantasy” – are being <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/Frankfurt-Book-Fair/article/90668-frankfurt-book-fair-2022-romantasy-and-revelry-on-the-fair-floor.html">picked up more and more by publishers</a> and <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/login?Refdoc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ethebookseller%2Ecom%2Ffeatures%2Fpublishers%2Dand%2Dmarketeers%2Dlaud%2Dimpact%2Dof%2Dbooktok%2Din%2Dthe%2Dresurgence%2Dof%2Dromance#:%7E:text=Maddy%20Marshall%2C%20senior%20marketing%20manager,there%20are%20whole%20table%20displays">displayed more prominently in bookshops</a>. </p>
<p>Book series such as <a href="https://sarahjmaas.com/books/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-series/">A Court of Thorns and Roses</a> by Sarah J Maas (from 2015) are immensely popular on BookTok – with some videos about the series amassing <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@itsthesuriel/video/7216831361120865578?q=A%20Court%20of%20Thorns%20and%20Roses&t=1694440196044">over a million views</a>. The series is marketed alongside new releases like <a href="https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-hurricane-wars-the-hurricane-wars-book-1-thea-guanzon">The Hurricane Wars</a> by Thea Guanzon or <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/261299-hades-x-persephone-saga">A Touch of Chaos</a> by Scarlett St. Clair, with Maas’s series appearing as “similar” or “recommended” on Amazon, Waterstones and Goodreads, as well as often being mentioned in readers’ reviews.</p>
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<img alt="Young woman in a yellow hoodie smiling at her phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549337/original/file-20230920-15-h5u8vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549337/original/file-20230920-15-h5u8vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549337/original/file-20230920-15-h5u8vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549337/original/file-20230920-15-h5u8vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549337/original/file-20230920-15-h5u8vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549337/original/file-20230920-15-h5u8vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549337/original/file-20230920-15-h5u8vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Young women are shaping publishing like never before.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-millennial-hispanic-teen-girl-checking-1734170210">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Mythology retellings are also immensely popular on BookTok, sparked by titles such as <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/song-of-achilles-9781526648174/">The Song of Achilles</a> by Madeline Miller (2011). Such titles now heavily feature on publishers’ new release and coming soon lists. </p>
<p>While it is fascinating to see that young women and their tastes can have such a big impact on the publishing industry, there’s a risk it may homogenise the industry. Literary critic <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/booktok-tiktok-books-community">Barry Pierce</a> has said that BookTok reads “all sort of have the same cover”. Meanwhile author <a href="https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/sweetbitter-author-stephanie-danler-booktok-instagram">Stephanie Danler said</a> of her foray into BookTok: “It seemed impossible to discover different fiction. It was the same 20 books over and over.” </p>
<p>BookTok also has a problem with diversity – in more ways than one. Its recommendations are <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2022/11/booktok-racial-bias-tiktok-algorithm.html">overwhelmingly by white authors</a>, and it is unclear what the long-term effects of this will be on both publishing and the young readers who flock to the app for recommendations. Furthermore, by catering to this huge audience of young women, publishers are forgoing books by men, <a href="https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/54863/1/where-have-all-the-young-male-novelists-gone">especially emerging writers</a>.</p>
<h2>Reviving books and identifying as ‘readers’</h2>
<p>BookTok is also proving a powerful tool for renewing interest in past titles. At the inaugural <a href="https://mashable.com/article/tiktok-book-awards-booktok-bolu-babalola#:%7E:text=The%20inaugural%20TikTok%20Book%20Awards,fans%20voting%20via%20the%20app.">BookTok Awards</a> held in August, Dolly Alderton’s memoir <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/306824/everything-i-know-about-love-by-alderton-dolly/9780241982105">Everything I Know About Love</a> won in the “best book to end a reading slump” category, despite being published in 2018. </p>
<p>These awards even had a “best BookTok revival” category, with the award going to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813). It’s funny to think that Austen, an author so revered that is she is printed on the <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-10-pound-note#:%7E:text=We%20first%20issued%20our%20current,features%20the%20author%20Jane%20Austen.">£10 note</a>, is being “revived”, but the younger demographic of BookTok may mean that new audiences are coming to even such established authors.</p>
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<p>It also makes startlingly clear how much BookTok and its creators are tastemakers who are shaping what and how young people read. As some creators themselves <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/25/the-rise-of-booktok-meet-the-teen-influencers-pushing-books-up-the-charts">have said</a>, BookTok favours “convincing you to read books based on their aesthetics”.</p>
<p>This might appear a shallow way to read but it is clearly very compelling, especially for a generation for whom countercultures have given way to microtrends and niche aesthetic identities. Young people are no longer punks, hippies or goths, but instead dress with a “<a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/what-exactly-is-cottagecore">cottagecore</a>” or “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-reading-dark-academia-novels-can-help-new-students-feel-more-at-home-at-university-213276">dark academia</a>” aesthetic.</p>
<p>Identity and aesthetics are potent tools that BookTok utilises to drive views, enthusiasm and sales – even if the latter isn’t the creators’ explicit aim. BookTok encourages people to <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/booktok-tiktok-books-community">identify as “readers”</a> rather than simply to read – indeed, to identify as specific kinds of reader such as “romance readers” or “fantasy readers”. </p>
<p>The constant supply of new content, book releases and ways to show yourself to be a reader – all displayed in visually compelling snippets – means that BookTok’s impact on what young people are reading is uniquely powerful.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalie Wall does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Online reading communities have been around for a while but none of them have captured the attention of readers, publishers and retailers quite like BookTok.Natalie Wall, PhD in English Literature, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2132512023-09-18T02:07:26Z2023-09-18T02:07:26ZNational wants to change how NZ schools teach reading – but ‘structured literacy’ must be more than just a classroom checklist<p>If it wins the election, the National Party has vowed to shake up how children are taught to read and write. Part of this education overhaul includes a <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/09/election-2023-national-releases-education-policy-pledges-to-require-schools-to-teach-structured-literacy-if-elected.html">pledge</a> to require the teaching of “structured literacy” in all year 0-6 classrooms. </p>
<p>For many in education, the announcement is welcome. It signals a move to an explicit and systematic form of teaching reading that educators, researchers and parents <a href="https://theconversation.com/young-new-zealanders-are-turning-off-reading-in-record-numbers-we-need-a-new-approach-to-teaching-literacy-141527">have long been calling for</a>.</p>
<p>New Zealand certainly needs to <a href="https://theeducationhub.org.nz/the-state-of-literacy-how-bad-are-things-and-why-does-it-matter/">lift its literacy rates</a>. Only 60% of 15-year-olds are achieving above the most basic level of reading, meaning 40% are struggling to read and write. Focusing on what research shows works in literacy is vital for improvement. </p>
<p>Some schools have already implemented a variety of structured literacy programmes, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/education/schools-footing-the-bill-to-teach-teachers-new-literacy-approach/3SMWSF3BSOCO5LJ76733SMBIOQ/">often at their own cost</a>. The Ministry of Education has also begun to provide resources for more explicit reading instruction, and has incorporated elements of structured literacy into its <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/changes-in-education/curriculum-and-assessment-changes/literacy-and-communication-and-maths-strategy/">education strategy</a>.</p>
<p>But here is where we need to tread carefully and work collaboratively. </p>
<p>There is a <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1286919.pdf">growing body of research</a> supporting the introduction of explicit reading instruction – what informs the label of structured literacy. But we don’t yet know exactly what it would look like and how it would be taught. </p>
<p>And, if we don’t remain adaptable, we could end up with a reading curriculum that fails the promise to lift literacy rates. </p>
<h2>How has reading been taught?</h2>
<p>For decades, New Zealand schools have followed the “<a href="https://readingpartners.org/blog/the-science-of-reading-and-balanced-literacy-part-one-history-and-context-of-the-reading-wars">balanced literacy approach</a>”. This places value on being immersed in literature, and on the development of oral language. Students are not explicitly taught to sound out words. </p>
<p>By contrast, a structured approach focuses on teaching children to read words by following a progression from simple to more complex phonics – the practice of matching the sounds with individual letters or groups of letters.</p>
<p>A balanced literacy approach requires children to use a wide range of information to read, including illustrations and the context of the story. So children might look at the first letter of a word and then think what might fit in the sentence. </p>
<p>Structured approaches to reading use decodable books that are designed to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-decodable-readers-and-do-they-work-106067">help children</a> practise a particular letter-sound pattern. </p>
<h2>Defining and trademarking reading instruction</h2>
<p>When we consider mandating a single approach to reading instruction, we need to develop a clear understanding of the terminology. </p>
<p>Structured literacy is one interpretation of the “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/why-more-u-s-schools-are-embracing-a-new-science-of-reading">science of reading</a>” – a large body of research that pulls from disciplines such as education, special education, literacy, psychology, neurology and others. </p>
<p>The International Dyslexia Association (<a href="https://dyslexiaida.org/what-is-structured-literacy/">IDA</a>) trademarked the term structured literacy in 2014. Their definition requires the explicit teaching of foundation skills, including phonics for word reading, in a way that is systematic and cumulative.</p>
<p>But as one part of the broader and evolving body of science of reading research, educators need to be careful not to ascribe too much to one definition of structured literacy. The research base is strong, but it is not entirely clear how to translate this research in the classroom.</p>
<p>Key questions about the structured literacy approach continue to be debated – including how best to teach based on the science of reading, and specific issues such as how many spelling patterns need to be taught explicitly, and how long we need to use decodable texts.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-new-zealanders-are-turning-off-reading-in-record-numbers-we-need-a-new-approach-to-teaching-literacy-141527">Young New Zealanders are turning off reading in record numbers – we need a new approach to teaching literacy</a>
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<p>Policy makers also need to be wary of creating a structured literacy checklist for teachers to follow. Some programmes could end up meeting the formal criteria but have no evidence that they work in practice. Others might not meet the criteria but provide positive results for learners.</p>
<h2>Teachers and researchers need to work together</h2>
<p>Successful implementation of any new literacy approach is going to require teacher education to keep pace with the research. </p>
<p>The National Party has promised to introduce structured literacy as part of teacher training and ongoing professional development – but research to support the teachers will be key.</p>
<p>Teachers have the best knowledge about their classrooms, while researchers can examine and evaluate whether implementation of a new programme has worked or not.</p>
<p>Local research is taking place. Both <a href="https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/schooling/early-literacy-research-project">Massey University</a> and the <a href="https://www.betterstartapproach.com/">University of Canterbury</a> have research projects focused on understanding and improving New Zealand’s literacy education.</p>
<p>Connecting research to educational practice is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020782/">notoriously difficult to achieve</a> but it is vital for ensuring classroom approaches are based on evidence. Research can provide the evidence of what works, which is vital in determining which literacy practices are successful, for whom, and how to implement them.</p>
<p>New Zealanders may want a simple solution to the country’s declining literacy, but teaching and learning are complex. </p>
<p>National’s proposal to introduce structured literacy is a step in the right direction. But it is essential that curriculum guidelines provide a clear framework for teachers, while allowing educators to adapt their teaching practices to ongoing research.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Braid consults as a literacy facilitator for Tātai Angitu, Massey University. She received funding from the Ministry of Education for a research project (2015-2017). James Chapman is quoted in this article and he was Christine's PhD supervisor and colleague in the research project.</span></em></p>For many educators, structured literacy is a step in the right direction to improving New Zealand’s falling literacy rates. But educators need to remain adaptable as the science of reading evolves.Christine Braid, Professional Learning and Development Facilitator in Literacy Education, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2110432023-09-12T20:09:51Z2023-09-12T20:09:51ZCan self-help books help with depression? I spoke to readers to find out<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547654/original/file-20230912-27-s73lh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=70%2C47%2C3794%2C2523&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gin/Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For millions of readers around the world, <a href="https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/help-yourself/">self-help books</a> offer a discreet, affordable way to access an array of psychological insights and therapeutic techniques.</p>
<p>Take a moment to browse your local bookshop or department store, and you’ll find books addressing everything from shyness and burnout to worry, weight loss and “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/25/archives/depression-the-common-cold-of-mental-ailments.html">the common cold of psychiatric ailments</a>” – depression.</p>
<p>But do they actually help? And what’s the best way to find out?</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544502/original/file-20230824-19-99gcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544502/original/file-20230824-19-99gcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544502/original/file-20230824-19-99gcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544502/original/file-20230824-19-99gcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544502/original/file-20230824-19-99gcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544502/original/file-20230824-19-99gcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544502/original/file-20230824-19-99gcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544502/original/file-20230824-19-99gcj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Do self-help books actually help their readers?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shiromani Kant/Unsplash</span></span>
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<p>As part of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437231198431">larger study</a>, I interviewed 13 readers with a diagnosis of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-depression-11447">depression</a> about their experiences with reading self-help books. They filled out a survey and then participated in extended one-on-one interviews.</p>
<p>With few exceptions, they recalled an initial phase of wanting “the instant gratification of being fixed”. But they persevered when reading didn’t provide immediate relief, finding that “realistic” expectations eventually yielded more positive and useful negotiations with self-help books over time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-depression-11447">Explainer: what is depression?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Silver bullet or snake oil?</h2>
<p>Numerous studies have considered whether self-help books produce results.</p>
<p>In some studies, clinical researchers have acknowledged the potential of self-help books as a viable treatment for depression. People may <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9194011/">feel better</a> after reading them.</p>
<p>In other studies, media researchers have described them as problematic – or even dangerous. People may <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1440783309103343">feel worse</a> after reading them.</p>
<p>Neither approach considers what happens when everyday readers choose self-help books for themselves – and read them whatever way they like.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-pop-psychology-can-it-make-your-life-better-or-is-it-all-snake-oil-158709">The rise of pop-psychology: can it make your life better, or is it all snake-oil?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Self-help means ‘help yourself’</h2>
<p>What did my work with real-word readers reveal?</p>
<p>First, they’d learned to read selectively and strategically. They recognised that useful perspectives and advice might be embedded in larger narratives that are irrelevant, unhelpful or even harmful. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544505/original/file-20230824-22-ytpyme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544505/original/file-20230824-22-ytpyme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544505/original/file-20230824-22-ytpyme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544505/original/file-20230824-22-ytpyme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544505/original/file-20230824-22-ytpyme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544505/original/file-20230824-22-ytpyme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544505/original/file-20230824-22-ytpyme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544505/original/file-20230824-22-ytpyme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>Even a “woo woo” book like <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Secret/Rhonda-Byrne/The-Secret-Library/9781582701707">The Secret</a> could offer something of value, readers suggested, “because it’s a whole book”. One reader called their approach searching for a “golden thread”. Another insisted some books “are packaged in a lot of junk, but they do have valid, valuable information in them”.</p>
<p>Readers also read widely, picking and choosing from books about other topics to better understand how depression can develop and manifest. “I’m plugging together the gaps between those life experiences and depression,” one reader explained, “because everyone’s experience of depression, the source of it, is different”.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.actmindfully.com.au/product/the-happiness-trap/">The Happiness Trap</a> by Russ Harris topped the list when I asked readers to name a book they’d found helpful. The rest of the results were surprisingly broad, encompassing more than 200 titles with little overlap. They included everything from <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/The_Bhagavad_Gita.html?id=bcnJAAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y">The Bhagavad Gita</a> by Eknath Easwaran to <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/rising-strong-9780091955038">Rising Strong</a> by Brené Brown and Sandra Cabot’s <a href="https://www.drcabotcleanse.com/product/the-liver-cleansing-diet/">The Liver Cleansing Diet</a>.</p>
<p>Interestingly, most readers thought it was “only natural” there are so many self-help books on offer these days. You have to be discerning, they said, yet open to a book’s message – and willing to put in some work. “That’s what self-help means,” a reader pointed out. “It means help yourself: the book’s helping you, but you’re still doing the lifting.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544511/original/file-20230824-19-wdprw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544511/original/file-20230824-19-wdprw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544511/original/file-20230824-19-wdprw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544511/original/file-20230824-19-wdprw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544511/original/file-20230824-19-wdprw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544511/original/file-20230824-19-wdprw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544511/original/file-20230824-19-wdprw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544511/original/file-20230824-19-wdprw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One reader observed, ‘the book’s helping you, but you’re doing the lifting’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thought Catalog/Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rather than accepting or dismissing individual titles outright, readers stressed “no one book is going to be right for anyone”.</p>
<p>Overall, they steered clear of “exploitative charlatans” peddling “wishy-washy” titles that “spouted gobbledygook” or cobbled together faddish terms and concepts. One reader described them as “books that take you everywhere but take you nowhere”. </p>
<p>Even when they sought out books with some kind of scientific or clinical basis, they avoided “purely scientific” discourse. And they criticised authors who alienated the reader with an impersonal tone, or bamboozled them with dense, esoteric or technical language.</p>
<p>A “good” self-help book, our conversations revealed, “took readers seriously” and allowed them to “connect the dots” for themselves. Self-help books were not a silver bullet. But they could help with depression if you knew what to expect of them – and when the worst symptoms had already passed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-reading-help-heal-us-and-process-our-emotions-or-is-that-just-a-story-we-tell-ourselves-197789">Can reading help heal us and process our emotions – or is that just a story we tell ourselves?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Reading between the lines</h2>
<p>While typical research approaches often locate the helping power of self-help books between the covers themselves, a readerly approach suggests otherwise: self-help books can help when readers know how to get something out of them.</p>
<p>As my interviewees pointed out, however, a “healthy” or useful approach to reading develops over time. It also depends heavily on circumstance.</p>
<p>Readers are not always or already an “expert audience”, especially if someone is struggling with difficult symptoms. Self-help reading requires practice, perseverance and perspective. Sometimes, readers might simply come across the wrong book at the wrong time – or, happily, the opposite.</p>
<p>There is more to be written about the way people with a specific diagnosis choose and use self-help books. </p>
<p>But it’s too simplistic to think of self-help books as either good or bad. Different readers – at different stages – make use of them in different ways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211043/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amber Gwynne received funding via an Australian Postgraduate Award for the duration of her PhD research (2014–2017).</span></em></p>Readers with depression initially wanted the ‘instant gratification of being fixed’ from self-help books. That didn’t happen, but they did benefit from the right books at the right times.Amber Gwynne, Sessional Lecturer in Writing, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2128082023-09-04T15:51:13Z2023-09-04T15:51:13ZThe Fraud by Zadie Smith review: a dazzling depiction of Victorian colonial England<p>Zadie Smith’s latest novel, The Fraud, is her first foray into the world of historical fiction. The result is a stunning, well-studied examination of Victorian colonial England and some of its inhabitants.</p>
<p>As with other works by Smith, the novel takes a patchwork approach, with several interwoven plots taking place over a period of about 50 years. Centrally placed in the plot is the real-life and highly bizarre trial of a man claiming to be a <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/body-double-tichborne-claimant/#:%7E:text=Roger%20Tichborne%2C%20the%20heir%20to,for%20information%20about%20her%20son.">Sir Roger Tichborne</a>, thought to have been killed at sea and heir to a substantial fortune. </p>
<p>The absurd and very long trial, which had people from all communities in 1870s England hooked, is seen in the novel through the eyes of Eliza Touchet, cousin and companion of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Harrison-Ainsworth">William Ainsworth</a>, a novelist well known in Victorian England but relatively forgotten today. </p>
<p>In fact, Eliza and William are both relatively ill-remembered historically (all of Ainsworth’s novels fell out of print, and Touchet is memorialised largely through some letters and a signed copy of a Dickens novel). However, Smith breathes life anew into them and through them, a portrait of Victorian England’s literary scene is painted.</p>
<h2>Remembered</h2>
<p>Touchet is incredibly compelling and a fantastic character through which to experience 19th-century England. She is witty, intelligent and compassionate. Her relationships with her cousin William Ainsworth and his first and second wives are written with humour and heart. </p>
<p>Through her, we witness the hypocrisy of her environment – the nepotism, the false friends, the pretence, the fraud. Through her is also a fictional account of the campaign for the abolition of slavery which, though taken very seriously by Touchet and the campaigners she encounters, is reduced to an intellectual exercise at the dinner parties of the literary middle class.</p>
<p>The novel’s central legal trial introduces a connection between the Tichborne family and Jamaica. This connection makes way for the character of Andrew Bogle, an older, formerly enslaved Black man who acts as the claimant’s star witness and perhaps the novel’s most quietly captivating character.</p>
<p>Moving backwards and forwards in time, the novel mostly focuses on Eliza’s experiences. There is, however, a long interlude depicting the life of Andrew Bogle and his travels across the breadth of the British empire – from Jamaica to England to Australia and back again to the colonial metropole. </p>
<p>Bogle is described as calm and incredibly earnest and, even in 1870s England, his race does not detract from his sincerity. This episode describing his life is by far the most compelling in the novel. Smith’s description of Jamaican plantation life is nuanced and deftly crafted, and its horrors are made plain without excessive graphic detail.</p>
<h2>Empire and connection</h2>
<p>The Fraud is a novel about many things and, as is characteristic of Smith’s writing, it invites us to question what it means to be human by asking us to question who is telling the truth. The reader encounters so many characters that engage in self-deception and hypocrisy that we might question exactly who the titular fraud is. </p>
<p>The novel is also, I think, about empire and connection.</p>
<p>Nothing that happens in Jamaica is at all disconnected from what is happening in England. Towards the end of the novel, the narrator describes England as “not a real place … an elaborate alibi”. The narrator continues: “Everything else, everything the English did and really wanted, everything they desired and took and used and discarded – all of that they did elsewhere.” </p>
<p>The barbarism of empire and plantation life is often discussed and often dismissed by characters having conversations from comfortable homes, but their physical distance from the horrors of the colonies does not disconnect them from it.</p>
<p>I found the characters compelling, the plot is full of scandal and there are many references to several well-known writers that help to ground this historical novel in something quite familiar. Smith is expertly able to interweave moments of levity and humour into a book that deals with some heaviness. I did feel like the novel began to lose some steam in the last 50 or so pages and think it might have worked as a slightly shorter novel. But it is among my favourite reads from Zadie Smith. Historical fiction suits her.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leighan M Renaud does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This well-researched book brings to life the odd case of Sir Roger Tichborne and those around him.Leighan M Renaud, Lecturer in Caribbean Literatures and Cultures, Department of English, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.