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.