Paper Short Abstract:

This paper examines how contemporary Icelandic reading promotion initiatives shape societal perceptions of "readers" and "non-readers", where readers are portrayed as responsible contributors to society and non-readers are depicted as threats to societal values and economic prosperity.

Paper Abstract:

Declining performance in reading comprehension on PISA assessments has become a central topic in public debates about Icelandic education. Policies and practices are increasingly being shaped to encourage children to read more. However, reading is not merely the act of decoding letters into words and letting them make sense; it is a culturally embedded activity imbued with values and meanings. This cultural dimension has been largely overlooked in Icelandic literacy studies, which tend to view the promotion of reading merely as a tool to improve performance without acknowledging its broader socio-cultural implications.

Drawing on public discourse and semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 15 parents of primary school children, this paper examines how contemporary reading promotion initiatives shape societal perceptions of "readers" and "non-readers". The study forms part of an ongoing doctoral research project in ethnology at the University of Iceland.

The findings show a dichotomy: readers are portrayed as responsible contributors to society, while non-readers are depicted as threats to societal values and economic prosperity. This discursive construction of the non-reader as "the other" not only marginalizes individuals but also normalizes their marginalization, thereby reinforcing social divides.