Ludic reading is 20 minutes a day? – Adding a socio-material perspective to ludic reading

Abstract

This article presents unexpected findings about children’s experiences with ludic reading, discovered through a collaborative project involving schools, libraries, and Pedagogical Learning Centres (PLC). The findings reveal that while children’s ludic reading experiences often reflect a goal-oriented, functional approach typical of educational contexts, they also seek social, playful, and immersive reading environments. This article explores how a socio-material approach can illuminate these findings, which existing literature does not fully address. The research question guiding this study is: How can a socio-material perspective on ludic reading inform professionals in rethinking initiatives to enhance children’s ludic reading? The methodology involves analysing these unexpected findings, termed ‘stumble data,’ derived from empirical material based on child-centred methods. The results suggest that a socio-material perspective can bridge the contexts in which ludic reading occurs. The article concludes that this perspective provides new explanatory frameworks and practice opportunities by integrating social and material elements that have not been sufficiently explored in the literature.