Lärarstudenters berättelser om läsning. Från tidig barndom till mötet med lärarutbildning

The aim of the thesis is to contribute to knowledge about experience and perceptions of reading that students at a school of education have, from early reading experiences in childhood, to the encounter with reading in context of their teacher training. The following overarching questions were asked: What aspects of narratives appear to be significant in the students’ reading trajectories? Which aspects of the narratives appear to be significant in the encounter with reading during the students’ teacher training?

To place the present investigation in a wider context a social-cultural perspective on reading is used as a means to shed light on the empirical data of the thesis. The choice of methodology is based on an epistemology where life stories are viewed as something which can provide knowledge about people’s experience and perceptions.

As an overarching result, the students’ stories show that reading is a relational process, which occurs with significant others. Significant others invite and confirm the individual to read in various contexts. The metaphor literary breast-feeding shows how interest is transmitted in a close relationship. It makes the child, pupil or student feel that he/she is a participant in different societies of readers. Artifacts are crucial to raise interest in texts. Such artifacts are used as tools to shape play, motivation and imagination. The student’s reading trajectories also clearly indicate that challenges and gaps exist between different contexts, and that these gaps challenge the individual and need to be bridged.