Özet:

The aim of this study is to reveal the effects and reflections of primary school students' experiences with literature circles on their attitudes towards reading. The participants of the study consisted of a total of 174 primary school fourth grade students studying at seven different primary schools. The study was designed according to the mixed method research techniques. In the quantitative stage of the study, single group pretest-posttest model was preferred. At this stage, the effect of literature circles on primary school students' attitudes towards reading was examined. At this stage, the effect of reading circles on primary school students' attitudes towards reading was examined. During one academic year, 12 literature circles were held with the participants, and a total of 12 books were read. In the qualitative part of the study, during the application process, after every four literature circles, focus group interviews were conducted three times with each group of nine students in seven primary schools. 21 focus group meetings were held in one year. Qualitative data obtained through interviews were analyzed with content analysis in order to reveal how the experiences of primary school students with literature circles reflect on their attitudes towards reading. As a result of the quantitative data analysis, it was observed that there was an increase in the participants' attitudes towards reading; however, this increase did not create a statistically significant difference. Besides, according to the findings obtained from the qualitative data, the dimensions that emerged included reading disposition, benefits of literature circles and developing reading habits. The results obtained from the research are important in terms of contributing to the improvement of primary school students in the way of being a literate society in Turkey.

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