Adolescents’ motivation for reading: group differences and relation to standardized achievement

Exploring the relationship between adolescent’s reading skills, reading motivation and reading habits

“…This is driven, in part, by the comparatively limited research with adolescents but also by the fairly limited research conducted outside of the US (Conradi et al, 2014), as it is crucial to understand whether findings apply across different cultural and educational contexts. The focus on gender, age and ability comparisons is 8 Running head: ADOLESCENT'S READING SKILL, MOTIVATION AND HABITS typical in this research field, and also aligns with a recent study by Wolters, Denton, York and Francis (2014) who examined these three group differences in a sample of adolescent readers in the US. Whether similar results would be found within a different educational and cultural context, and using different measures of reading skill and motivation was of interest.…”

“…Gender differences in reading motivation are quite consistently found, with males reporting lower levels of motivation compared to females (Baker & Wigfield 1999;Marinak & Gambrell, 2010;McGeown, Goodwin, Henderson & Wright, 2012;McGeown, 2013;Pitcher et al, 2007); while a recent study with adolescents found little evidence of consistent gender differences (Wolters et al, 2014), it should be noted that this study excluded proficient readers as it only included adequate and struggling readers. In general, girls typically value reading more highly than boys (Durik, Vida & Eccles, 2006;Eccles et al, 1993;Marinak & Gambrell, 2010;Wigfield et al, 1997).…”

“…With regard to expectancy and value of reading specifically, cross-sectional and longitudinal research studies suggest that expectancy beliefs (Eccles et al, 1993;Wigfield et al, 1997) and value of reading (Eccles et al, 1993;Wigfield et al, 1997;Jacobs, Lanza, Osgood, Eccles & Wigfield, 2004) decrease with age. A recent study with adolescents by Wolters et al, (2014) found no evidence of academic level (i.e., age) differences in reading competence or achievement goals; however younger students tended to value reading more highly (i.e., saw greater utility in reading for later career/post school opportunities). This is consistent with Eccles et al, (1993) who reported that students' value beliefs regarding reading tends to decrease more significantly than their expectancy beliefs (Eccles et al, Running head: ADOLESCENT'S READING SKILL, MOTIVATION AND HABITS 1993).…”

“…personal interest) than extrinsic motivation (external motivators; e.g., reading to obtain good grades). With adolescents, Wolters et al, (2014) reported that adequate and struggling reader groups differed significantly in terms of their competence beliefs and social goals, but not in their reading value or achievement goals. In terms of ability differences in reading Running head: ADOLESCENT'S READING SKILL, MOTIVATION AND HABITS habits, there is evidence to suggest that children's reading skills predict general reading frequency and engagement in reading activities (Mol & Bus, 2011).…”

Learning Processes and Academic Achievement among Omani School Students

“…Other researchers have also proved the positive contribution of motivation on academic achievement of different school subjects (e.g., Bipp & Dam, 2014;Froiland & Oros, 2014;Hayenga & Corpus, 2010). Moreover, various motivational constructs, such as self-concept, self-efficacy beliefs, anxiety, value and attitude have been found to affect academic achievement (e.g., Mahyuddin et al, 2006;Seaton, Parker, Marsh, Craven, & Yeung, 2014;Steinmayr & Spinath, 2009;Wolters, Denton, York, & Frances, 2014).…”