The Functions of Reading: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

THIS STUDY examined the common functions of reading from a cross-cultural perspective. In the preliminary study, 8-, 10and 13-year-old students from 13 different countries were asked to write essays on why they liked to read. The authors analyzed the content of the 1,216 essays produced and identified 10 separate functions of reading. Statements from the essays were used to construct a 50-item scale. In Study 2, this scale was administered to students in 15 countries to determine whether the 10 functions were independent and whether the functions of reading were similar in different cultural settings. Unfortunately, not enough questionnaires were returned for 8-year-old students to include these data in the final analyses. An analysis of the pooled data for 10and 13-year-old students in all 15 countries (3,050 questionnaires) identified three distinct functions or factors: utility, enjoyment, and escape. Factor analyses of each of the national samples identified similar factors, although in some countries there were two utility factors, one educational and one moral. Most of the national samples also showed either two independent factors for enjoyment and escape or a single enjoyment/escape factor. These findings suggest that for 10and 13-year-olds reading may serve similar functions across a range of cultural settings.