During the initial training period of future educators, it is essential to strengthen their identity as readers. In the professional context in which they will be working, namely Early Childhood Educational Services, it is indeed important that they can promote the development of the pleasure of reading in children. Research highlights that it is not enough for educators to know the best strategies for designing activities that foster familiarity with books; it is equally important that they themselves are motivated and engaged readers (Applegate & Applegate, 2004; Cremin et al., 2022). In this regard, the quality and specificity of educators’ training are critical, both in terms of knowledge of educational practices related to reading and awareness of their own personal reading profile (Chambers & Zucchini, 2011; Cremin, 2014, 2020; Moretti, 2017; Morini, 2017; Batini & Giusti, 2021). In addition to the affective-emotional dimension of reading, attention must also be paid to the cognitive dimension. The paper presents the main outcomes of an exploratory research involving students enrolled in the degree program “Educator for Early Childhood and Nursery Services” at the Department of Education, Roma Tre University. In the first phase of the study, a diachronic analysis was conducted to identify the initial gaps manifested by the future educators. The analysis revealed that students often struggle with the ability to read and deeply comprehend texts. The main objective was therefore to gather information on young adult readers’ profiles and their opinions on the importance of introducing an integrated reading education model starting from early childhood. Two tools were used for data collection: the Literary Response Questionnaire (LRQ) by Miall & Kuiken (1995), translated and adapted to the Italian context for young adults (Moretti & Morini, 2024); and a questionnaire specifically designed for this study to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The data confirm the trend observed in national Italian statistics, which show a significant number of weak readers (people who report to have read between 1 and 3 books in the past 12 months). The phenomenon of disengagement from reading seems to begin at the end of secondary school. Furthermore, the main findings of the research confirm the need to introduce activities in initial training programs that encourage critical reflection on personal reading habits to counteract the decline in reading practices.

Keywords: Reader-educators, Literary Response Questionnaire, Early Childhood, exploratory research, reading education.