Helsinki's Third-graders to Receive Donald Duck Magazine at Home – Study Examines Effects on Reading Motivation

The Comics as a Gateway to Reading study examines how having printed reading materials regularly delivered to the home affects children's reading motivation and their perception of themselves as readers. The study is being carried out by the Education for the Future Flagship, EDUCA, led by the University of Jyväskylä and funded by the Research Council of Finland, in collaboration with the City of Helsinki.

Sanoma Media Finland will provide the magazines to all third-graders in the City of Helsinki's schools who participate in the study. Children studying at Swedish-language schools will receive ‘Kalle Anka’, the Swedish-language version of the magazine from Story House Egmont.

Time spent reading has halved

The background to this initiative is concern about declining literacy: numerous studies show that Finnish children's and young people's reading skills have decreased and that their reading motivation and habit have diminished.

Due to digitalisation, printed reading materials, such as books or magazines, are no longer necessarily found in homes. A child's home background and reading habits at home have a significant impact on literacy.

"When the amount of reading halves over 20 years, as has happened in Finland according to Statistics Finland's time use study, it is no wonder that reading skills also decline. If we want to maintain good reading skills, we need to find ways to make time for reading and support the desire to read," says Professor Minna Torppa from the University of Jyväskylä.

Learning to read with Donald Duck

Throughout its 75 years of history, the Donald Duck magazine, Aku Ankka in Finnish, has played an important role in promoting Finnish literacy and maintaining and developing the Finnish language. As many as 40% of Finns have learned to read with the help of Aku Ankka, according to its reader surveys, and for many foreign-language speakers it has been an invaluable aid to learning Finnish. In 2024, Aku Ankka received the Finnish Language Act Award.

"The Aku Ankka magazine has been published in uncompromisingly fun and good Finnish since 1951. “At ‘Akkari’, we are honoured to be part of this study and, above all, to encourage Finns of all ages to engage in the noble hobby of reading," says Aku Ankka's Editor-in-Chief Aki Hyyppä.

Academic research also confirms the importance of comics, especially for boys, as a catalyst for reading.

"We previously asked around 2,000 children about their favourite reading materials. Almost 80% said that Aku Ankka was their favourite comics, and amongst boys in particular it was the most common ‘favourite book’. We also know that the average amount of printed reading material in the homes of good readers is higher than in the homes of weaker readers," says Professor Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen from the University of Jyväskylä, who is leading the study.

Helsinki has increased reading in schools 

The City of Helsinki is systematically working to strengthen the literacy skills of children and young people and to increase the amount of reading. In line with the City Strategy 2025–2029, Helsinki is increasing the number of instruction hours of mother tongue and literature per week in comprehensive schools – on top of the nationwide increases – and promoting reading during the school day. 

A student's reading motivation and habits are a strong predictor of success in other subjects, further studies and life in general. 

"Investing in literacy and reading was already a key priority in the previous strategic period, and we will continue and strengthen this work in all our schools and classrooms. It is great that we are gaining new research information about children's reading skills and how reading motivation can be influenced. Good reading skills are the foundation for all other learning and an important skill for the future," says Head of Comprehensive Education in Helsinki Ville Raatikainen.

An easy gateway to reading

Various donation projects of reading materials aimed at children and young people have provided encouraging experiences, but in Finland their impact has not previously been systematically studied.

"Our pilot study from last spring showed that donating comics to homes could be an easy gateway to reading and finding reading motivation, especially for children with lower reading motivation," says Professor Minna Torppa.

The study will assess the children's skills before the Aku Ankkas are sent and at the end of the trial. It will also gather feedback and experiences from the parents and the children themselves. The Finnish Reading Centre will send materials to the parents and guardians on how to encourage their children to read at home.

Impactful research from the school world

Education for the Future Flagship, EDUCA, is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carries out carefully planned interventions in close cooperation with municipalities, policy makers and other stakeholders. The EDUCA Flagship provides high-quality research data to support policy-making in education. The research consortium is led by the University of Jyväskylä and includes Aalto University, the University of Helsinki and the University of Turku.

The Comics as a Gateway to Reading study is one of the intervention studies carried out jointly by the EDUCA Flagship and the City of Helsinki to promote literacy amongst children and young people. A private funder is also contributing to the costs of the study.

During the last school year, a reading skills study (in Finnish) was conducted for second-graders in Helsinki, where the trial classes had an additional teacher for four weekly mother tongue and literature lessons. The findings from this study will be published in 2026.