Reading motivation, well‐being and reading achievement in second grade students

Abstract

Background: Prior research has indicated that high levels of motivation and subjective well-being can predict engagement in challenging academic situations and achievement. Yet studies in the field have yielded inconsistent results in young elementary school students indicating a need to further examine this topic. This is particularly urgent for young children during the foundational years of early elementary school when they are learning critical academic skills including reading. Method: We examined the relationships between reading motivation, school-based well-being as covitality, and literacy achievement in 268 second graders in the process of reading acquisition in Hebrew. Well-being and reading motivation were examined by questionnaires designed and/or adapted for young elementary school students and literacy skills by language and reading tests. Results: Findings showed a positive correlation between reading motivation and full-scale covitality scores, as well as most of its first order factors (gratitude, optimism, zest and persistence). Furthermore, both reading motivation and covitality were positively correlated to reading skills and language abilities. Significant differences were found between students with low-medium reading motivation and those with high motivation in all covitality subfactors and most literacy measures, in favour of children with high reading motivation. Conclusions: The worrisome picture, that children with low reading motivation also report low levels of covitality, suggests that proper attention should be paid throughout first grade to both reading motivation and school-based well-being, both of which might affect learning. Because children's cognitive readiness is related to their socioemotional well-being, children with poor language abilities and emergent literacy skills may require special support to prevent their expected reading difficulties and the negative emotions attached to them. Thus, designing reading instruction programmes that implement motivational aspects should be a high priority interest for educators that teach young children.

Examining early learners’ perceptions of inclusion: adaptation of the student version of the perceptions of inclusion questionnaire for first- and second-grade students (PIQ-EARLY)

“…However, in contrast to the present study, they found no significant correlation of achievement tests in German and emotional inclusion. The emotional well-being of students’ may be more dependent on language skills at the early beginning of schooling, because students have to learn important academic skills including reading in this critical phase ( Vaknin-Nusbaum and Tuckwiller, 2023 ), and adjustment to school is especially challenging when students do not understand the classroom language. These findings highlight the relevance of early language support before the start of primary school, especially for children with a less supportive literacy environment at home ( Ebert et al, 2020 ).…”

“…A range of instruments has been developed to evaluate the perspectives of parents or teachers to assess different facets of the social and emotional development of students in their early school years. Most of these instruments focus on social and emotional problems and behavioral issues in the context of school readiness ( Darling-Churchill et al, 2015 ; Vaknin-Nusbaum and Tuckwiller, 2023 ). In recent decades, however, the concept of school readiness has been questioned, and schools nowadays are required to adapt to students’ individual transition processes and learning conditions.…”

Where is motivation in the science of reading?

“…For example, Paul Morgan and Douglas Fuchs (2007) reviewed 15 studies examining the relationship between young children’s reading motivation and reading skills and concluded that a bidirectional relationship is likely to exist between the two, a result upheld more recently by Jessica Toste and colleagues (2020). Current research shows whole-class reading programs that intentionally target young children’s reading motivation and foundational skills better enhance both motivation and skills than programs solely targeting foundational skills (Vaknin-Nusbaum & Tuckwiller, 2023). Therefore, we — like other reading scholars (e.g., Duke & Cartwright, 2021) — advocate for reading approaches that intentionally support children’s motivation to read alongside their foundational skills.…”