Reading for Pleasure in Formal Education: A Narrative Review of Pedagogical Practices, Opportunities, and Constraints

Abstract

Reading for Pleasure (RfP) is associated with literacy development and reading enjoyment, yet formal education can turn reading into an assessment-driven obligation. This narrative review examines how formal education conceptualizes RfP and how it relates to reading pedagogy. Ten peer-reviewed studies published between 2014 and 2024 were identified through Scopus and Google Scholar and synthesized thematically. The corpus spans school and university contexts in the United States, Australia, Ghana, Nigeria, Spain, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom, as well as non-site-specific conceptual and practice-design analyses. Across the studies, RfP is best understood as a continuum from externally required reading through supported choice and developing enjoyment to more autonomous reading. Meaningful text choice, multimodal and personalized activities, social and private reading opportunities, learner participation, and supportive classroom and library environments emerge as promising approaches, although the heterogeneous evidence does not support uniform causal claims. Teachers and librarians help preserve access, choice, and low-stakes participation, while institutional support can sustain the conditions needed for reader autonomy. RfP can be integrated into formal education when pedagogical structure protects voluntariness and enjoyment. Longitudinal and mixed-method research is needed to assess whether RfP initiatives in formal education produce sustained voluntary reading beyond intervention periods.