Article 21th (Motivation For Reading Among Struggling Middle School Readers: A Mixed Methods Study)

Motivation for reading is a complex construct, challenging to target as an object of both study and instruction. There has been an increasing call to further address reading motivation among populations such as students with special needs, and students more broadly categorized as “struggling” readers. The aim of this mixed methodological study, focused on struggling readers, was to triangulate standardized, longitudinal reading performance, reading motivation survey data, and semi-structured motivation interviews in order to: (1) explore the developmental relationship between motivation and reading comprehension; and (2) characterize the nature of students' motivation to read.

This study's site differences on motivation and reading comprehension highlight the important role of school environment factors in student affect and performance, suggesting that educators, particularly in urban school settings, should be cognizant of challenges their students face that are not necessarily ameliorated by high self-efficacy beliefs. The use of mixed methods sheds further light on the importance of a multidimensional approach to understanding student motivation for reading. Independently, neither our quantitative nor qualitative measures could have provided the depth of information that enabled an unpacking of the relationship, or lack thereof, between motivation and reading comprehension among struggling middle school readers. We consider our findings a challenge for researchers to continue seeking ways to better understand reading motivation among members of this population, enabling us to unpack why certain aspects of motivation might impact struggling readers differently in different learning environments.

Annisa Masnasuri Kesai

16611069

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