PROGRAMSKA DJELA I SAMOSTALNI IZBORI – ČEMU I ZAŠTO OSMACI DAJU PREDNOST
IN-SCHOOL READING AND FREE CHOICES – WHAT THE EIGHTH-GRADERS PREFER AND WHY

Summary/Abstract: The context in which modern young readers grow up is more complicated and demanding than the context in which readers grew up at the end of the last century, and the beginning of this century when mobile phones were the privilege of adults for establishing fast and functional communication. The overall development of science, especially progress in the field of communication technologies, creates some new and different conditions for reading, and thus the readers themselves. In such circumstances, it is difficult to set boundaries and impose choices – the fact is that trivial or easy literature, through whose textual fabric the reader breaks through without much cognitive effort and still discovers the meaning, increasingly influences the decisions and choices of children and young people, but also older and more mature readers. Therefore, a complex language activity such as reading has been put in the focus of many scientific disciplines whose field of research contributes to elucidating its peculiarities and significance for man and his activity as a whole because "the complexity of cognitive, metacognitive, affective, social-historical and overall contextual determinants of reading requires a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach and the necessary cooperation of various disciplines within the humanities, social and medical sciences" (Pšihistal 2013, 44). Reading literacy is a key factor in education, life, and work in the modern age, which is recognized in the Montenegrin subject curricula for teaching the mother tongue and literature in primary (2017) and secondary schools (2020) and is noticeable in educational and knowledge outcomes aimed at the development of both different reading strategies and this demanding cognitive skill as a whole. Concerning the described topic, in this paper, we also cite the results of research into the reading interests of children and young people carried out in Montenegro and the region, and we also refer to international research from similar fields, given that the problem of (non)reading among young people is a global trend. The mentioned topic in the region was mostly researched at the high school age, but considering that the researched population (primary school eighth-graders) goes to high school as the next level of education, and a step forward in the development of literacy competence, of which reading is an inseparable part, the mentioned results we considered significant for our research. The list of works to be read at home in mother tongue and literature subject curricula in primary and secondary schools is always an acute topic that raises many questions: What corrections should be made about the existing selection? How and to what extent should we represent the classics of children's literature, but also introduce new authors, and from which areas? What is the attitude of the students towards the works already represented in the curricula and do they want to read the school reading material? To what extent do the themes presented in those works provoke and intrigue young readers and do they want to devote themselves to such works? The goals of the overall research were multiple, but for this work, we singled out the following: to reach the reading interests of primary school eighth-graders through their attitude towards reading the recommended works of school reading and the free reading choices of literary-artistic works, examining at the same time which genre they prefer and why. The aforementioned part of the research was guided by two research questions formulated following the set goals: Which works of school reading do students like to read and why? Which works do they choose and why? In doing so, we considered works for reading at home from the previous two grades (sixth and seventh) and those that are read in the eighth grade (19 in total) that the respondents had just finished. The interviews were conducted in the last month of the school year, that is when the reception of the mentioned works and the activities accompanying the work on them are mostly finished. Reflection and discussion on the above-mentioned issue can offer an interesting starting point for certain adaptations of the reading material and the selection of works in the subject curricula, as well as adequate reading motivation for small and young readers. At the moment when, first of all, the national criterion is satisfied, given that a significant corpus usually consists of aesthetically valuable works of national literature, and the criterion for choosing representative works of world literature is also met, then the current and challenging titles for students must be taken into account. The research corpus consisted of eighth-grade students from three primary schools in Podgorica (72 students – 38 girls and 34 boys). They are one year before the end of primary school education, which means that during literature classes, in addition to improving their reading strategies of literary and artistic texts, they were able to acquire an age-appropriate corpus of literary theoretical knowledge and adopt basic concepts and notions from the theory of literature, based on which they can improve their analytical-synthetic abilities in the process of accepting the artistic creation and deepen their understanding and experience of the literary work. Also, the entire previous education, as well as the context in which they live, can significantly influence their reading preferences and choices. We based the discussion of the obtained data on a qualitative thematic analysis, which was preceded by a detailed study of the recorded material, then its coding by highlighting the most important meanings and ideas extracted from the student narratives and the formulation of the appropriate categories (19). The categories were then classified into four themes that correspond to the research questions (Brown, Clark 2006). The analysis of the results of the research shows that the studied population (students aged 13, ie early adolescence) reads school textbooks, but also makes independent reading choices, and judges what they read, forming their own opinions. Therefore, we conclude that reading is important to them as a school obligation, but that they devote themselves to it outside of that context as well. Judging by the students' narratives, in both categories the works that belong to fantastic prose and epic fiction especially attract attention, so explaining their choice of readers, most of the respondents point out that by reading works of this provenance they have the opportunity to learn about myths, legends, and historically important events and personalities of different peoples and culture, which, among other things, contributes to the understanding and acceptance of their cultural structures, i.e. customs and values. Also, the wonder of new worlds, a constellation of unusual characters equipped with fascinating powers and their adventures, countries, and regions that function in special, unknown in everyday life, but at the same time in perfect ways, obviously capture the attention of young readers. In the world of fantasy, identifying with the heroes of the story and distancing themselves from them allows young readers to take different (usually desirable) ethical positions and make decisions on that level. They emphasize the continuous struggle of the heroes of these works against the dark forces of evil, so the essence of this choice is not only reflected in escapism, but it is obvious that the respondents recognize the key ideas that the works carry and show an essential understanding of the mentioned genre. In this sense, Harry Potter (Rowling) and The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien) are highly positioned, but also Jules Verne and his works, as well as recent literary productions (Adams: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Bardugo: Shadow and Bone - Grisha I trilogy, Tešić: Kosingas – Svarog The Awakening, Mal: Haven for Fairy Tales, Ende: The Neverending Story...). The peer diary, as a simpler epistolary form, captures the attention of schoolchildren both when it is an integral part of school reading (The Diary of Anne Frank) and when it comes to a free choice of works to read (Townsand: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mol, Pantermiller: The Diary of an Almost Teenage Girl). From the list of reading works, the respondents single out the novels of the group/clique – classics of children's literature from the exYugoslav territories (Nušić: Brigands and Ćopić: Eagles Fly Early), which they read in previous grades (sixth and seventh grade), while in free choices they place horror (mysteries) highly. Determined by paradoxes and a dominant feature concentrated in the aesthetic intention "to produce in the reader feelings of uncertainty, apprehension, chills, fear, surprise, unexpected shock, and horror, while these feelings are both repulsive and attractive for the reader" (Ognjanović, 2014, 39), horror is a genre that attracts young readers, so our respondents suggest Doherty: Night School (all parts), Banićević: School Library Demon, Riggs: Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Novels with the theme of teenage love, which "happens to everyone, so it's interesting", are expectedly the choice of the examined age, (Green: The Stars are to Blame), as well as detective novels because in them we "search for the truth" and "discover the perpetrators of evil ourselves" (Christie and Doyle). Poetry is rarely mentioned in the students' answers, and it came up at the moment when the respondents explained the choice of works concerning their volume, so it is easier for them to read and follow a short story and a poem, than a more voluminous form of work. It is true that the short story and the poem can be read relatively quickly because of their length, but the reason why students do not choose poetry as reading material may lie in the allegorical nature of the poetic language, the complexity of the poetic expression compressed into verses and stanzas pregnant with meanings that need to be reached. Thematically, we can state that the interests of students according to their age, in essence, have not changed much – they still choose works characteristic of the period of early adolescence, pointing out that, despite the intense presence of the latest genres of mythical fantasy and horror with unusual peers, often vampire groups, in fact, those that are closest to them – realistic gangs of hooligans from long ago times, but equally current childhood and youthful limitations and troubles, interwoven with humor. "The modernity of those works is determined by the fact that today's, modern children read them" (Gabelica 2015, 62). A comparison with similar research in the region and beyond has shown that, when it comes to the genre of literary works, and partly their titles, both inschool and out-of-school reading, the preferences of the respondents largely coincide with the choices of their peers from the region and beyond, which is why it is most likely contributed by a strong generational connection based on the possibilities provided by modern technology. The results of the research are proof that future dedicated readers, seekers of a good book, and sincere devotees can still be successfully formed during the teaching of literature in modern circumstances. Therefore, it is the task of adults, as creators and implementers of education, to dedicate themselves to the development of the reading of literary-artistic texts, in an organized and synergistic way, and to change themselves by accepting changes for the sake of those they educate.

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