Purpose

Previous research shows that identity and academic learning are interdependent, so affecting one can affect the other. The purpose of this case study was to explore preservice English teachers’ reading identities and their perceptions of reading identity development in the context of English classrooms.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used qualitative collective case design. Data sources included analogy exercise about participants’ reading identities, participant-generated observations of reading identity instruction, questionnaire on reading identity, class discussions about reading identity and final written reflection.

Findings

Data showed examples of participants’ reading identities as taking a variety of forms, but when discussing what shaped their reading identities, the strongest codes related to positive interactions with people and texts. The data showed that participants related positive reading identities to both reading to learn and reading for pleasure. More participants’ perceived their professional identity as that of a literature teacher than a reading teacher.

Research limitations/implications

Future research is needed on how to support preservice teachers’ positive reading identities in English education courses.

Practical implications

Our data suggest that learning about reading identity may help preservice English teachers think of reading as something that is developing in themselves as well as their students over a lifetime. By providing space in English methods programs to attend to preservice teachers’ reading lives, we can help them rekindle or find their love of reading.

Originality/value

This research is needed because helping preservice teachers construct and enact positive reading identities in turn aids guidance of their future students’ reading identities, and having a positive reading identity is in turn linked to positive student outcomes.