Teen reading lives in focus: Autonomy, agency and social reading cultures

KELLY ASHLEY, Lecturer in Reading for Pleasure, The Open University, UK TERESA CREMIN, Professor of Education (Literacy) and Co-Director of the Literacy and Social Justice Centre, The Open University, UK ALISON KING, Librarian, Literacy Lead and PSHE Coordinator, Kings Monkton School, Cardiff, UK SUSAN LATTER, Lead Teacher, Crofton School, Hampshire, UK Adolescent reading lives are shaped by a complex interplay of autonomy, identity, belonging and the socio-cultural norms surrounding reading (Boyask et al., 2023; Ivey and Johnston, 2023). While secondary schools recognise that reading skill contributes to academic attainment, they tend to pay less attention to the motivation to read and the influence of structural, instructional and relational conditions (Neugebauer and Gilmour, 2020). Evidence suggests that the transition from reading for school to reading for oneself depends on opportunities to exercise choice, encounter personally relevant texts and participate in meaningful