Using PIRLS Data to Investigate the Relationship of Teachers' Instruction with Students' Out-of-School Reading Behaviours. Policy Brief No. 8

Research clearly demonstrates the importance of students' reading behaviors for predicting students' short- and long-term outcomes. While teachers' instruction might affect these reading behaviors (and therefore indirectly affect achievement), we know little about the association of in-school teacher practices with students' out-of-school behaviors. In this brief, we draw on data from IEA's 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) to examine the relationships of several instructional practices with multiple measures of students' out-of-school reading. Finding wide variation in instruction across countries and several significant associations, we conclude with policy implications for policymakers, teachers, parents, and researchers. A table detailing the average extent of student reading outside school by country is appended.