Book acquisition preferences among Rio de Janeiro municipal teachers

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.25.2650

Keywords:

Reading habits, reading interests, elementary school teachers, junior high school teachers, state programs, 2012, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Teacher quality is an important factor in education enhancement, and it is strongly related to student achievement. Reading is a good cultural indicator of a population and a tool for one´s self-improvement. International studies concluded that teachers, the would-be role model for students, are seldom avid readers. Recently, many Brazilian state programs have been implemented aiming at encouraging reading habits, but they are seldom evaluated. Since 2001, Rio de Janeiro City Department of Education (RJCDE) distributes annually to elementary and secondary teachers a voucher exchangeable for any book of their choice. We analyzed books chosen by almost 26,000 teachers in 2012. The tally of the books showed a large variety of titles. Literature was the most prominent group, followed by Children’s and Adolescent Literature, which indicates a possible acquisition for family members. Almost one-fifth of the titles were scientific, technical or professional books, which shows a desire for personal and/or professional self-improvement. Teachers from the primary grades presented a distinct set of preferences from secondary grade teachers. The reading habit, as aesthetic pleasure, entertainment, self-improvement, or family reading, requires freedom of choice. The RJCDE program treats teachers as independent adults, responsible for their own choices.  

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Author Biographies

Kaizo Iwakami Beltrao, Brazilian School of Public Administration and Business of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (EBAPE/FGV)

Kaizô holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Aeronautical Technological Institute (ITA), a Master's in Applied Mathematics from the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA / CNPq) and a PhD in Statistics from Princeton University. He is currently Professor of the Brazilian School of Public Administration and Business of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (EBAPE / FGV). His areas of interest include educational evaluation and demography, in particular mortality tables, projections and migrations.

Milena Piraccini Duchiade, Consultor

Milena is a doctor, graduating from UFRJ in 1977 with a pediatric residency in 1978 and 1979. She completed the Specialization Course in Public Health in 1983 at the ENSP-FIOCRUZ (National School of Public Health of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation) and the Master in Epidemiology in ENSP in 1991, where she was also an assistant professor until 1996. In 1997 she left teaching and became a bookseller at Livraria Leonardo da Vinci, a family business, where she remained until 2016. During this period she held several positions at the State Association of Bookstores of RJ - AELRJ. Concomitantly, she also devoted herself to researching the consumption of reading material in the Brazilian population, from large national databases, and has written  some books and articles on the subject.

Published

2017-05-01

How to Cite

Beltrao, K. I., & Duchiade, M. P. (2017). Book acquisition preferences among Rio de Janeiro municipal teachers. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 25, 43. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.25.2650

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Section

Articles