Children’s reading engagement and social reading experiences: exploring the influence of augmented reality (AR) books

Abstract

The quality of children’s reading experiences plays a significant role in their opportunity to thrive, and these reading experiences can be shaped by different text types (Krcmar & Cingel, 2014). Over the last decade, the nature of reading has been evolving, and Augmented Reality (AR) represents a step change in bringing together the physical book with digital enhancements (Panchenko et al., 2020; Polyzou et al., 2023). Augmented Reality (AR) books represent a hybrid reading experience, where print books are augmented with digital features (e.g., animations, sounds, comprehension questions). This offers opportunities for new research questions focusing on children’s reading experiences and how different reading mediums could shape and support their reading practices. This research adopted a mixed-methods exploratory sequential design to i) provide in-depth insights into children’s reading engagement with AR books, focusing on behavioural, cognitive, affective, and social dimensions and ii) explore the social reading experiences (shared reading and book-talk) afforded by AR books for children with reading difficulties.

Previous research highlights that the quality of children’s reading experiences and outcomes is associated with their reading engagement (McGeown & Conradi-Smith, 2023); however, research to date has only examined children’s reading engagement within the context of print books or digital texts. Therefore, Study 1 examined children’s perspectives and experiences of AR books, within the context of reading engagement. In total, 38 demographically diverse children (aged 8–10, 21 boys, 17 English as an Additional Language, 14 ethnicities, and nine with teacher-reported reading difficulties) from the UK participated. After reading an AR book, children participated in interviews to learn about their reading engagement. Deductive (themes) and inductive (subthemes) approaches to thematic analysis were used (Braun & Clarke, 2006), examining children’s AR reading experiences within the context of their behavioural, cognitive, affective and social engagement (Lee et al., 2021a). The majority of children found AR books easy to use, and provided examples of how AR books supported their behavioural engagement (e.g., desire to read more/extend reading practices), altered their cognitive engagement (e.g., reading strategies, visual representation/use of imagination, comprehension monitoring), influenced their affective engagement: (e.g., diverse positive feelings), and social engagement (e.g., prompted interaction and discussion), providing examples suggesting similarities and differences with print books. In addition, class teachers from the classes participating in this project took part in interviews (n = 2), and their perceptions of the usability of AR books in the classroom are discussed (e.g., time restrictions and availability), as these issues could complicate the implementation of AR books within classrooms.

Shared reading and book talk are common activities used to engage primary school readers, yet can be anxiety-provoking for those with reading difficulties. Study 2 examined whether, and how, AR books could foster more positive social reading experiences for children with reading difficulties by comparing children’s book-talk and reading experiences with an Augmented Reality (AR) and non-AR (matched in content and format, except for the number of pages) book. In total, 32 children (aged 8–10, 17 girls, 3 English as an Additional Language, 7 ethnicities, and all with reading difficulties) from the UK participated. Children participated in dyads in two shared book reading sessions (AR/non-AR book, counterbalanced), with book-talk after each session, followed by a general discussion to learn of their perceptions of the similarities and differences in their AR/non-AR reading experiences. It was found that AR books were associated with significantly higher levels of book talk following the reading session (both in number of words spoken and sentence length), while many similarities and differences were found in children’s experiences with the AR and non-AR books. For example, shared reading in both conditions could support reading progress (e.g., positive peer support) and foster positive social reading experiences (e.g., enjoying reading together and feeling connected); however, differences were also found in relation to the AR book shared reading (e.g., ease of use).

The findings of this thesis have contributed to the very limited research literature on AR books and reading experiences. Given the increase in the use of technology among children, this research reported how this new form of technology can potentially support and extend children’s reading practices and experiences. For AR books to be used optimally within the classroom, it is essential to raise teachers’ awareness of AR books, and how they influence children’s reading engagement, so that teachers can make informed decisions about their use. Moreover, previous research has demonstrated the importance of talking about text with peers (Gambrell, 2011), and its positive influence on readers’ social engagement (Lee et al., 2021a). Enabling positive social reading experiences for children who have difficulties with reading is essential, and AR books offer promise in this regard. This research provides novel and educationally important insights which can inform the reading practices of children with reading difficulties, as it is the first research to explore the potential impact of AR books on the book-talk and reading experiences of children with reading difficulties. Finally, AR does offer a new direction for book publishing (Gudinavičius & Markelevičiūtė, 2020; Lai et al., 2015) and the findings of this research could develop our understanding of how best to integrate AR into books to facilitate positive engaging and enriching reading experiences for children.