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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND
INTRODUCTION
1.1 In January 2004 the Scottish Executive's Office of
Chief Researcher commissioned
mruk research to examine public awareness
of a recent media campaign designed to raise awareness of
and encourage home reading amongst families in
Scotland.
1.2 In this document we will outline the background to
the research and the key aims and objectives of the
project, the methodology employed and the findings from the
latest project as undertaken by
mruk research. Where applicable findings
have also been compared with results from a previous wave
of research undertaken by Progressive Partnership in
2003.
BACKGROUND
1.3 In August 2002 the Scottish Executive launched the
Home Reading Initiative 'Read Together', a three year
campaign which aimed to raise awareness of and encourage
home reading amongst families. It also aimed to highlight
the particular needs of boys and those experiencing poverty
and social injustice.
1.4 Initial research undertaken to develop the campaign
identified a number of barriers that are faced by parents
and carers regarding reading with children. The most common
barrier cited was a perceived lack of time, with
distractions such as television and computer games also
being key barriers and influencers to time spent reading.
As a consequence of this, the Home Reading campaign was
developed with two key aims:
- To highlight to parents the benefits of reading to
or with children aged between 2 and 8 years old
- To demonstrate how easy this can be
1.5 It was felt particularly important to communicate
that reading does not necessarily have to involve 'a book
at bedtime', and that it can also be beneficial to spend a
few minutes reading other types of material with
children.
1.6 The Home Reading Initiative was developed to contain
a number of elements designed to encourage parents and
carers to share books with children from a young age,
including:
- A
CD-
ROM with information to help support
parents and carers reading with their children
- A start-up fund, through the Scottish Executive,
for the establishment of local initiatives to support
early literacy in the community
- A website containing a variety of tools to assist
the initiative including a list of recommended books,
ideas from other parents and a selection of activities
to make reading fun
1.7 The Initiative is also supported by a selection of
'Reading Champions'. These included public figures such as
popular authors, politicians and celebrities who promote
the benefits of reading to children through attendance at
organised events where parents and children are introduced
to books and reading.
1.8 In supporting this initiative a national publicity
campaign was developed (incorporating radio and press
advertising) which ran between January and February 2003.
Research was undertaken by Progressive Partnership in March
2003 to measure levels of campaign awareness amongst
parents and to examine their attitudes towards the material
in encouraging them to read with their children. This
research reported low recall of the press advertising
amongst the target group. As a consequence of this the
press material was re-designed and the campaign re-launched
between October and November 2003, with a second burst of
campaign activity in mid-January 2004 (12
th - 25
th January).
1.9 Following the latest advertising activity, further
research was considered necessary to establish how
awareness of the Home Reading campaign amongst parents may
have changed since the previous research project (following
re-design of press materials).
mruk research were commissioned to
undertake this research, the findings from which form the
main body of this report.
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