In one study of a New York City public school classroom, a kindergarten teacher reported observing that her students were interested in sports; as a result, she curated a basket of books that represented their sports interests (Nash, Panther, & Elson, 2019). The teacher and researchers reported that students had input and agency, as the titles for the basket and others were selected with what the teacher observed as student interests, experiences, and culture.
In a 2017 study performed in the UK, in which the design of reading lists prescribed to students was analyzed, all participants acknowledged selecting material based on perceived student use and self-directed selection (Scott & Inskip, 2017).
In a study of 146 New York City public school teachers, teachers reported loving reading themselves and wanting to introduce well-loved books to students that would also inspire a love of reading (Lao, 2005).
Teachers in a New Zealand study, in which participants sought to increase reading achievement, prioritized the needs of older, male students, perceiving that this was the lowest achieving group (Fletcher, Grimley, Greenwood, and Parkhill, 2012). As such, their selections for reading materials were motivated by what they observed to be of interest to this population.