The benefits of reading aloud in lower and upper secondary schools: teachers’ perceptions through the logbooks of the third year of “Leggere: Forte!”

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to help broaden the knowledge of the benefits associated with the practice of reading aloud at school, focusing on the point of view and observations of teachers, subjective and yet fundamental within a narrative approach. The analyzes of the logbooks of the lower and upper secondary school classes will be presented. The classes documented their participation in the third year of “Reading: So cool!” on a daily basis. This educational policy is centered on the inclusion of reading aloud in the educational and training curriculum as a method capable of promoting the development of learning skills and cognitive, emotional and relational skills of the girls and boys involved. This practice is also configured as an effective strategy to combat the phenomenon of early school leaving and the high number of NEETs present in Italy.

Through the logbook, a semi-structured tool that the teachers participating in the project compile daily and send weekly, it was possible to monitor the teachers' perception and their return on the effects of an intensive and systematic reading aloud practice. The results deriving from the analysis of the diaries show that numerous benefits and positive effects can be detected in relation to the linguistic, cognitive, emotional, attentional, learning and psychophysical well-being, as well as on empathic and socialization skills. These elements foster a climate of inclusiveness, outline the practice of reading aloud in the classroom as an effective tool for empowerment and cognitive democracy and determine transformative processes of impact on a didactic, social and ethical level.