Reading Habits of Pre-Service Primary School Teachers, with a Gender Perspective

Primary school teachers have to encourage reading among their pupils, and this is a specific competence which they have to acquire during their initial training. The digitalisation of reading, brought about by the rapid advance of information and communication technologies, has led to a transformation in reading habits, to which teachers cannot be oblivious. The gender stereotypes of Primary School teachers have an indirect effect on the self-concept, motivation and reading performance of their pupils. The aim of this study was to analyse the reading habits of pre-service primary school teachers, as well as the influence of gender, in the context of the University of Murcia. For this purpose, a non-experimental, cross-sectional, quantitative research method was used. The sample, representative of the population from which it came, consisted of 209 students of the Primary Education degree. Digital reading showed a daily frequency. In the academic environment, reading on paper coexists with digital reading. Outside this environment, digital reading prevails over reading on paper. There is evidence of a gender gap with regard to paper-based reading associated with study. It is necessary to include training in the promotion of reading, free of gender bias, which equips teachers with digital skills, and not only literary training, due to the characteristics of the digital medium.