Adolescents' enjoyment of reading as a predictor of reading achievement: new evidence from a cross-country survey

This study investigated the effect of enjoyment of reading on reading achievement among adolescents using a sample of 65 countries. Our results indicate that although enjoyment of reading is a significant predictor of reading achievement and can explain as much as 18% of the variation in such achievement on its own at country level, there are significant cross-country differences in the pattern of this relationship. Our main finding is that after controlling for demographic differences such as gender and socio-economic status, enjoyment of reading is positively associated with reading achievement in high academic performance countries and negatively associated with such achievement in low academic performance countries.