Uncovering the psychology of learning - discover how Professor Jessie Ricketts’ research on teenage reading is helping to tackle a major challenge for society.
As many as 20% of young people in the UK leave school unable to read well enough to navigate adult life.
“What do you do if you struggle to read well enough to negotiate the health system, use public transport, apply for jobs or even read warning notices aimed at keeping you safe?” says developmental psychologist Professor Jessie Ricketts.
“It’s a problem and it’s not acceptable.”
Jessie has spent her career working with young people, teachers, schools, charities, and the government. Her research studies how reading and language develop. She examines how reading and language interact and how they influence learning as young people move through their childhood and teenage years.
The teenage reading skills gap
“A minimum requirement of a good education system is learning to read.”
Universal literacy and numeracy for all young people, and a significant portion of adults, is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for Education, focusing on reading ability.
In the UK reading skills are taught in primary school, with the emphasis shifting to using reading as a learning tool when pupils enter secondary school. This means pupils who have not learnt the essential reading skills by this stage will struggle to keep up across the curriculum and may need access to further reading support to help them develop these vital skills.
A little over a decade ago Jessie noticed there was a gap in research on teenage reading, despite much research on reading in childhood and adulthood. “Previous research had typically assumed that the interesting development in reading and language happens in childhood.” Rejecting this assumption, Jessie set about investigating exactly how reading changes and develops over adolescence, a period generally accepted to cover the ages 10 to 24.
Video: Professor Ricketts Inaugural Lecture
Jessie has worked with Dr Laura Shapiro (Aston University) and other colleagues on two large long-term studies tracking how teenagers read and how their reading habits and skills change over years as they develop, these are known as ‘longitudinal’ studies. The first study followed students between the ages 11 to 14, covering the first three years in secondary school. The second study began with children in primary school, following them as they transitioned into secondary school, and is currently tracking them through the all-important teenage years. This longitudinal work is complemented by experimental work where Jessie manipulates variables to understand the causes and consequences of reading.
The combination of longitudinal and experimental research methods provides the gold standard approach for understanding cause and effect between reading and other factors. For example, she has examined how vocabulary knowledge supports reading success and, in turn, how reading contributes to the development of vocabulary. Another line of research shows that reading proficiency strongly influences reading engagement. In other words, if we want young people to read more, we must first ensure that they have the skills they need to read confidently.
Five things schools need to know
Her research has led to five key messages for education.
Five lessons for every school infographic
Title page
1. Reading is not just a primary school issue
| Supporting reading in primary school is not enough. Reading challenges that arise in primary school often continue to in to secondary school. In addition, reading issues can emerge or change as pupils move into and through secondary school, and the challenge of reading changes. |
2. Use a two-step process to screen all secondary school pupils
| A robust approach to identifying reading requirements, includes a two-step process of screening all pupils and then following up those who are at risk of falling behind. This allows schools to make careful decisions about who to support and how. It is then important to monitor progress and continue to support as necessary. |
3. Train teachers to spot and support reading needs
| Reading levels vary hugely among teenagers, presenting a huge challenge for teachers. Pupils’ knowledge and skills vary enormously and yet the curriculum and texts that they need to access are broadly the same for all. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) with teachers enables them to build the knowledge, confidence, capacity and capability that they need to support learning in all pupils, irrespective of reading proficiency. |
4. Redefine the ‘transition slump’ as a ‘transition jump’
| There is a common narrative of a ‘transition slump’ in reading in the transition from primary to secondary school. However, Jessie’s research shows that there is no such slump. Instead, this perception is likely driven by a ‘jump’ in the challenge that reading brings, and the expectations that young people will read independently. |
5. Reading skills go hand in hand with reading engagement
| Engaging with reading is important for learning, for experiencing worlds outside of your lived experience, and for some it is a source of enjoyment. Jessie’s work shows that if we want young people to engage with reading, we need to first ensure that they have the ability. |
From research to next steps
Jessie’s research doesn’t just take place within the walls of the university. Working within a wide network she collaborates deeply with teachers, policy makers, charities and young people to co-create research, develop research questions that are motivated by educational practice, as well as theory, and translate research findings for the education community.
When Jessie embarked on this research in 2013, secondary school teachers told her they did not have the knowledge they needed to support the reading needs of their students. At the time, government policy on reading was firmly focused on promoting universal phonics teaching in primary schools. Since then, things have come a long way and Jessie’s research has supported and enabled these changes. Key landmarks include the publication of Education Endowment Secondary Reading Guidance in 2018, Ofsted research on secondary reading in 2022, and the development of a new Reading Framework by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2023.
“In publishing this second Reading Framework, the UK government signaled for the first time that reading is an issue for secondary as well as primary schools – that was a landmark moment which demonstrated the effect this kind of research can have.”
Jessie is currently working closely with the DfE across several new initiatives. Working in collaboration with a large group of practitioners she developed a training programme that was rolled out to secondary schools in 2025. She is working with FFT Education and Royal Holloway colleague, Professor Kathy Rastle on further training, launched in January 2026. She is also advising the DfE on their English Hubs secondary project and is involved in official plans for the National Year of Reading throughout 2026. Jessie’s research is also feeding into work outside of the UK in Australia, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.
Why does it matter?
Jessie doesn't believe everyone needs to be an avid reader just because she is, but she does believe that lacking everyday language and literacy skills puts people at a serious disadvantage all their lives.
“That’s why this research matters. I feel passionately that this is a big societal challenge, and I want to know I’m doing what I can to help tackle it.”
Explore Jessie’s work further via the links and find out how schools can support teenage readers.
- Language and Reading Acquisition (LARA) research lab
- TransformED Literacy Symposium - December 2025 - Professor Jessie Ricketts
- Teenage reading: 5 things schools need to know - TES article
- Reading in secondary students (secondary reading CPD) - DfE training video
- 'Reading and Vocabulary: Exploring how Skilled Independent Reading Supports Vocabulary Learning in Primary and Secondary School' - report
- UK Parliament: Reading for pleasure Inquiry - Professor Jessie Ricketts contributed to 'Reading for Pleasure - Oral evidence' session, 3rd February 2026
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