Income, Ideology, and Childhood Reading in the Late Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries.

INCOME, IDEOLOGY, AND CHILDHOOD READING IN THE LATE SEVENTEENTH AND EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES. Jajdelska, E., History of Education, 2004, 33(1), 55-73. This article focuses on the factors that contributed to the growth in sustained, engaged reading in upper-class children during the 17th and 18th centuries. The article also notes factors that hampered its growth among children of poverty. Jajdelska defines engaged reading as "varied, frequent, recreational, and happening regularly over many years in childhood" (p. 56). The author supports the importance of engaged reading practices by citing several studies, some of which conclude that engaged reading is the best predictor of reading competence.

Certain conditions existed in the 17th and 18th centuries that began to allow for the growth of engaged reading in the upper class. First, the number of people with disposable income increased significantly, and so more people had the opportunity to own texts. As is true today, the number of books found in homes was a major predictor of reading achievement. Second, prior to this era, texts (primarily the Bible) were considered items of learning to be memorized. By 1693, however, John Locke suggested that the best way to teach functional reading literacy was not through memorization of religious texts, but rather by giving children books to read on their own and making sure those books were interesting to children. Memorization, however, remained a necessity for those who could not afford to buy books.

The notion of reading as recreation began to develop during this time period, as did the idea of differentiating between reading aloud and reading silently. With this new acceptance of recreational, engaged reading, upper-class children had the chance to improve their skills as silent readers. Finally, the late 17th century marked the birth of children's literature, which used typefaces and language that were more suited for them. Obviously, many new opportunities for participation in this engaged, recreational type of reading were growing for those children whose families had the means to support these habits. However, such opportunities were not available for children living in poverty, who thus were left behind. Does this sound familiar? Reviewed by Holly G. Morgan, doctoral student in early childhood education, University of Alabama at Birmingham.