Reading Motivation

Marinak, B. A., & Gamrell, L. B. (2010). Reading motivation: Exploring the gender gap. Literacy Research and Instruction, 49(2), 129-141.

Background

The authors noted that boys had low motivation in reading and tended to underachieve compared to girls.

Aims

The study examined whether there were gender differences in reading motivation for third graders, specifically in how they viewed themselves as readers and whether they found value in reading.

Sample

The participants were 288 third-grade students with average reading ability (145 girls and 143 boys) from three American suburban primary schools.

Method

A reading specialist administered a reading survey to all the participants. The 20-item survey tested how students viewed themselves as readers and to what extent they valued reading. The self-concept items focused on eliciting students’ perceptions about themselves in reading as well as on whether they thought their peers perceived them as readers. The items on the value of reading elicited information about how much value the students placed on reading tasks in terms of frequency of reading engagement and reading-related activities.

Findings

The results indicated that the boys were less motivated to read and valued reading less than the girls although both boys and girls were equally self-confident about themselves as readers. The low motivation that the boys had in reading seemed to be strongly associated with the value they placed on reading activities.

Implications

The authors suggested that it was important to identify teaching practices that encouraged boys to value reading. They suggested that literacy tasks should consider what boys valued when reading and whether the tasks were of personal value to them.

Original article retrieved from Taylor & Francis.