Reading motivation is an important factor that can predict reading performance in elementary school. The present study aimed to investigate whether reading motivation could mediate the relationship between reading skills at the beginning of school and reading performance in the middle of elementary school. Longitudinal data from 979 students (52%…

Studies on the relation between children's reading motivation and early developmental stages of reading competence are rare and have neglected on-line measures of reading skill (e.g., eye movements indicating word decoding). For this reason, we investigated the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation on the efficiency of reading…

Intrinsic reading motivation plays a pivotal role in increasing reading frequency, strengthening engagement in learning, and growth in reading skills. Identifying specific teacher behaviors that foster intrinsic reading motivation and exploring the relationship between reading motivation and reading development can inform efforts to improve…

This qualitative study investigated the ways in which 84 parents from predominantly low-income communities described supporting their third graders' reading skills, motivation, and habits. Thematic analysis of open-ended parent interviews indicated that parents actively and deliberately scaffolded their children's progress toward developing…

Important strides have been made in the science of learning to read. Yet, many students still struggle to attain reading proficiency. This calls for sustained efforts to bridge theoretical insights with applied considerations about ideal pedagogy. The current study was designed to contribute to this conversation, namely by looking at the efficacy…

Fifteen third and fourth graders with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were asked to complete reading self-efficacy and reading activity scales and standardized tests of oral and written language to examine the relationships between reading self-efficacy, reading activity, oral language, and reading achievement, with gender and age…

This study addressed the role of reading motivation as a potential determinant of losses or gains in reading competence over six weeks of summer vacation (SV). Based on a sample of 223 third-grade elementary students, structural equation analyses showed that intrinsic reading motivation before SV contributed positively to both word and sentence…

This study examined the contributions of decoding, language, spelling, and motivation to the reading comprehension of elementary school readers in a high-poverty setting. Specifically, the research questions addressed whether and how the influences of word reading efficiency, semantic knowledge, reading self-concept, and spelling on reading…

The purpose of this study was to assess reading motivational differences of students with reading disabilities/difficulties (RD), attention deficit hyperactive disorders/at-risk for ADHD, combined groups (RD+ADHD), and non-disabled comparisons (ND). Most motivational research has made academic motivational comparisons with typical students without…

Since the 2003-04 school year, Save the Children, U.S. Programs, has supported programming designed to improve reading skills among struggling students in rural areas. The literacy program includes both afterschool and in-school interventions with small groups of children. These are implemented by well-trained paraprofessionals and are designed to…

This study investigated the benefits of using a Web-based reading curriculum program featuring music and video, on struggling readers' performance and motivation. A sample of 36 third grade students from low socioeconomic backgrounds was randomly assigned to receive Web-based or traditional reading instruction. Analyses of performance indicated…