Middle schoolers’ book selection and reasons for discontinuing reading

Abstract

In this qualitative research we employed the case study method to identify the factors that affect Turkish fifth to eight graders’ selection of books to read and the reasons that cause them to stop reading the books they have selected. To identify those factors and reasons, data were collected from a total of 32 participating students who were selected using stratified purposive sampling. A group was formed for each grade. Each grade group included 8 students who borrowed books from public libraries and voluntarily participated in the study. The participants were interviewed using open-ended questions. Interviews revealed that in selecting books to read, the students considered theme, genre, and structural features such as title, cover design, author, publisher, and recommendations made by peers, teachers, and family members as criteria. The students also stated that the events and themes in the books, language features, font size, insufficient time to read, and the library’s requirement to return a book in 15 days were the reasons to give up reading a selected book.