“The Reading Circle” in Pre-school : a Study Based on Aidan Chambers’ Model Regarding Reading Environment

The aim with this thesis is to highlight components regarding small children’s reading environment in preschool and see how these affect their meeting with literature. The study is based on J. A. Appleyard’s theory on man’s development as a reader. He states that we take on different roles when we develop as humans. The role: “the reader as a player” has been especially useful, since it served as a source of knowledge about small children’s development as readers. Aidan Chambers’ model “The reading circle” is originally meant for school but this study suggests it is possible to apply it for pre-school also. The study has a qualitative approach and contains a combination of methods, conducted with an adult perspective although interviews with children are included. The purpose of combining methods is to bring about a comprehensive picture where Chambers’ model has served as the framework. The result shows that all teachers want to read for the children and that they regard reading as important. However their personal aims and thoughts regarding reading environment were not realized in their work due to lack of time for planning and reflection. As a rule the pre-school children visited the public library every month. During these visits the library took on a passive role. Neither the pre-school nor the library took any initiative to develop the visits to something more than just loaning and returning books. The study also revealed that the children, to a very high extent, chose their own literature to read.Uppsatsnivå: