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Academic personal initiative (API) has rarely been studied with regard to literacy development. The purpose of this longitudinal study was therefore to examine the unique effects of API on the development of word comprehension as an indicator of word reading. To this end, the effects of previous word comprehension, intrinsic reading motivation, and basic cognitive ability (i.e., processing speed) were controlled for. A total of 1,515 German students participated in a longitudinal assessment starting in Grades 1 to 3, with a second point of measurement nine months later. Latent change score analyses revealed positive associations between API and gains in word comprehension, both in the total sample and at all grade levels. These relations were robust against the effects of previous word comprehension and intrinsic reading motivation. The findings suggest that children play an active role in their own reading development. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
This study addressed the role of elementary school teachers' classroom management and mastery-oriented instructional practices as mediators of the effects of teacher motivation on student motivation. The sample comprised 110 teacher-class pairs (1731 students). The results from multilevel regression analyses revealed that teacher educational interest contributed to student reports of teachers' instructional practices. These practices, in turn, were significant predictors of students' subject interest and mastery goals at both the student and the class level. Finally, teacher educational interest showed significant and substantial indirect relations to student motivation that were mediated by teachers’ instructional practices.
This review of research examines the constructs of reading motivation and synthesizes research findings of the past 20 years on the relationship between reading motivation and reading behavior (amount, strategies, and preferences), and the relationship between reading motivation and reading competence (reading skills and comprehension). In addition, evidence relating to the causal role of motivational factors and to the role of reading behavior as a mediator of the effects of motivation on reading competence is examined. We identify seven genuine dimensions of reading motivation: curiosity, involvement, competition, recognition, grades, compliance, and work avoidance. Evidence for these dimensions comes from both quantitative and qualitative research. Moreover, evidence from previous studies confirms the positive contribution of intrinsic reading motivation, and the relatively small or negative contribution of extrinsic reading motivation, to reading behavior and reading competence. The positive contribution of intrinsic motivation is particularly evident in relation to amount of reading for enjoyment and reading competence and holds even when accounting for relevant control variables. However, the causal role of reading motivation and the mediating role of reading behavior remain largely unresolved issues.
This study investigated predictors of mind wandering during reading and their effects on comprehension in a sample of secondary school children. One hundred and twenty-five eighth-graders read either an easy, moderately difficult, or difficult version of an expository text and subsequently answered a number of comprehension questions. Students were asked about their thoughts during reading, their propensity to mind wander in various life situations, as well as their interest in the topics of the text. Overall, the results were consistent with the general mind wandering literature: More difficult texts were associated with lower topic interest, more mind wandering during reading, and worse comprehension. Topic interest was negatively related to mind wandering during reading. Furthermore, the propensity to mind wander in daily life had both a positive effect and a negative effect on comprehension, the latter being mediated by mind wandering during reading. Based on these results, it is argued that mind wandering may benefit school children's reading comprehension if it is applied in appropriate situations and for activities that promote comprehension.
Although self-regulated learning has received much attention over the past decades, research on how teacher education students regulate their own learning has been scarce, particularly in third world countries. In the present study, we examined the structural relationships between motivational beliefs, cognitive learning strategies, and academic performance among teacher education students in Uganda. The sample comprised of 1081 students selected from seven universities. Data were collected using several subscales from the modified Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and were analyzed by structural equation modeling. Cognitive learning strategies fully mediated the relationship between motivational beliefs and academic performance. Motivational beliefs contributed to students’ academic performance mainly through influencing their critical thinking and organizational skills. Therefore, interventions to improve teacher education students’ academic performance should focus not only on boosting their motivation but also on enhancing their use of cognitive learning strategies.
Previous research suggests that children's growth in reading abilities is positively related to their intrinsic reading motivation and the amount of spare time reading. Furthermore, a number of previous studies point to the possibility that spare time reading amount mediates the positive association between intrinsic reading motivation and reading comprehension. However, to date, most of the available evidence for a mediation model is either cross-sectional and/or limited to late elementary and secondary school students, whereas the early elementary grades have only rarely been targeted in longitudinal studies. Accordingly, the present study investigated longitudinal relations between intrinsic reading motivation, reading amount, and reading comprehension in the early elementary grades with a particular focus on the potential mediator role of reading amount. Evidence was found for partial mediation by reading amount between reading comprehension and later intrinsic reading motivation. However, there was no evidence for (partial or full) mediation by reading amount between intrinsic reading motivation and later reading comprehension. It is concluded that in the process of becoming more sophisticated readers, early elementary students read more frequently in their spare time, and this makes reading more rewarding for them in the long run. In contrast, the potentially positive effect of spare time reading on later reading comprehension seems to be either non-existent or too weak to be reliably detected over longer time frames.
This study examined the role of reading amount as a mediator of the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation on higher order reading comprehension (comprised of paragraph- and passage-level comprehension) in a sample of 159 fifth-grade elementary students. A positive association between intrinsic reading motivation and reading amount was assumed, whereas a negative contribution to reading amount was expected for extrinsic reading motivation. As control variables, lower order reading comprehension (comprised of word- and sentence-level comprehension), gender, and social desirability were taken into account. Structural equation analyses indicated that reading amount fully mediated the positive effect of intrinsic reading motivation on higher order comprehension, whereas extrinsic reading motivation exerted both indirect and direct negative effects on comprehension. Additional analyses confirmed a suppression effect and showed significant negative contributions of extrinsic reading motivation to reading amount and reading comprehension only when intrinsic reading motivation was simultaneously included as a predictor.
Background Boredom during learning activities has the potential of impeding attention, motivation, learning and eventually achievement. Yet, research focusing on its possible antecedents seems to have received less attention especially within the physics domain. Based on assumptions of the Control Value Theory of Achievement Emotions (CVTAE), this study aimed at examining gender differences and structural relationships between students' reported perceived teacher autonomy support (PTAS), cognitive appraisals (self-efficacy and task value) and learning-related boredom in physics. A sample of 375 (56% females) randomly selected 9(th) grade students (mean age = 15.03 years; SD = 1.02) from five secondary schools in Masaka district of Uganda took part in the study. Results Data collected from students' self-reports using standardised instruments revealed that higher levels of PTAS, self-efficacy, and task value were significantly associated with lower levels of boredom during physics learning. Females reported significantly greater task value for learning physics than the males. Self-efficacy (beta = - .10, p < .05) and task value (beta = - .09, p < .01) partially mediated the relationship between PTAS and boredom. PTAS showed significant direct negative contributions to boredom (beta = - .34, p < .001). Conclusion These findings provide support for theory and practice about the importance of promoting autonomy among students by adjusting instructional behaviours among teachers of physics. Teacher autonomy supportive behaviours influence formation of students' beliefs about ability, subjective value and learning-related boredom in physics. Implications and suggestions for further research are also discussed in this paper.