MEDIATION IN READER FORMATION: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' READING TRAJECTORIES

The development of autonomous readers represents a challenge in the Colombian educational context, where difficulties persist in consolidating voluntary reading habits outside the school environment. This qualitative research analyzed 50 texts written in Spanish by Colombian university students in response to the question "What is my story as a reader?", using content analysis technique supported by MAXQDA software, with the aim of understanding how reading habits are formed and what characteristics define the mediation contexts that favor such development. The results show that self-perception as a good or poor reader does not depend on objective technical skills, but rather on early affective experiences, family mediation, and school practices. Those who consider themselves good readers report positive family mediation during childhood, while poor readers associate their experience with mandatory readings and punitive tests. The discussion indicates that school constitutes a contradictory space: it can either erode interest in reading or, exceptionally, lay the foundations for reading habits, depending on the teaching strategies employed. Differential access to books, determined by the socioeconomic and educational level of caregivers, configures cumulative advantages or disadvantages that project onto reading self-perception. It is concluded that formation of autonomous readers requires rethinking educational and family practices, prioritizing personal meaning over evaluation, and ensuring public policies that guarantee equitable access to diverse materials from early childhood.