Skönlitteratur för läsförståelse : En kvalitativ undersökning om användningen av skönlitteratur i syfte att öka läsförståelse

According to standardized tests, Swedish students’ reading comprehension skills are getting worse. The Swedish National Agency for Education has also stated that the lack of sufficient reading comprehension skills is particularly noticeable in regards to reading fiction. This study aims to examine theories and methods for using fiction with the purpose of increasing reading comprehension in upper secondary school. The study of previous research is coupled with interviews where four teachers share their experiences on working with fiction and reading comprehension. The results show that researchers and teachers are largely agreed upon one thing: the reading experience should come first. The teachers also claim that the students’ interest in what they are reading has a considerable impact on the development of their reading skills. However, students’ interests and experiences while reading are not explicitly part of the regulatory documents teachers are required to relate their teaching to. Furthermore, the regulatory documents are conflicted on the purpose of reading literature. While the aim of the subject Swedish focuses in part on the merits of fiction as a source for self-awareness and understanding of other people’s experiences, this is not reflected in the knowledge requirements needed to pass in the subject. If interest and reading experience were deemed as important aspects in the regulatory documents it might become easier to increase students’ reading comprehension skills.VT 2018