Abstract

Research has indicated that students with more positive attitudes toward reading for pleasure tend to read more often, leading to higher reading achievement. As Greece is a country with below-average reading achievement in all PISA assessment cycles and with very limited related nationally representative research available, it is deemed important to examine factors related to attitudes toward reading for pleasure in Greece and explore any relation to reading achievement. Therefore, the present study, with the use of multilevel modelling analysis of the most recent relevant PISA database, examines factors related to fifteen-year-old students’ attitudes toward reading for pleasure in Greece, focusing on reading achievement, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES). Findings indicated that there is a positive relation between students’ reading for pleasure attitudes and their reading achievement, as well as a weak but positive relation between reading for pleasure attitudes and SES. In addition, boys were found with more negative attitudes toward reading than girls, even after controlling for reading achievement. The present study offers valuable insights for policy and practice and suggests that the promotion of reading as a meaningful recreational activity should constitute a major focus on behalf of parents, teachers, schools and government.