LD@3: The need to read: a mismatch of expectations

Working in higher education, we know that academic success comes from reading. The more we read the easier our academic writing becomes. However, anecdotally there seems to be a disconnect between this seemingly known fact and the amount of reading both expected to be and undertaken by first year undergraduate students at the University of Chester. Reading the literature, it became apparent that there is a suggestion that students are not engaging in academic literature as much as they need and lecturing staff are not always appreciating the lack of reading; furthermore, the reading suggests that this, within the United Kingdom context, is down to a combination of factors. Moreover, the lack of reading has been linked to lower grades and this is known to affect retention and succession. Here at the University of Chester, we have set out to explore this anecdote of missed realisation of reading of first year undergraduates. Our research is a mixed methods approach working with second year undergraduate students and their module tutors from five non-professional programmes from across the University. It is hoped that this research will form the foundations for both wider research and resources to support the need to read.