Situated Reading Motivations as Mediators Between Perceptions of Reading Instruction and General Reading Motivations

• In Event: Adolescent Reading Motivation: Building Stronger Interventions

Abstract

Purpose – The current study examined situated reading motivations as mediators in the relationships between perceptions of reading instruction and general reading motivations in seventh grade students.

Theoretical Framework – Motivations for specific activities, or situated motivations, can “spark” change in general reading motivation (Guthrie et al., 2006, 2007; Hidi & Harackiweicz; Schiefele, 2009). Using the Situated Inference Model, subjects’ perceptions can also influence outcomes (Loersch & Payne, 2011). To date, no one has put these two lines of research together. It is worth investigating if perceptions of instruction influence general reading motivations directly, and if these perceptions indirectly influence general reading motivations through situated reading motivations.

Data Sources and Methods – Participants included 1217 seventh-grade students from nineteen reading/language arts classrooms in four schools. Students participated in six weeks of reading instruction as part of a larger project—only situated and general reading motivations and perceptions of reading instruction were examined in the current study. The general reading motivation measure was completed pre- and post- instruction (April and June, respectively) and the situated motivation and perceptions of instruction measures were completed weekly during instruction.

Results – Six mediation analyses were conducted following similar formats, with perceptions of reading instruction as the independent variables, situated reading motivations as the mediators, and general reading motivations as the dependent variables. Pairings of these variables were derived from Guthrie et al. (2007), resulting in the following six mediations: (1) Situated Intrinsic Reading Motivation mediating the relationship between Perceived Instructional Relevance and General Intrinsic Reading Motivation, (2) Situated Social Reading Motivation mediating the relationship between Perceived Instructional Success and General Peer Reading Value, (3) Situated Reading Autonomy mediating the relationship between Perceived Instructional Choice and General Intrinsic Reading Motivation, (4) Situated Reading Value mediating the relationship between Perceived Instructional Reading Awareness and General Reading Value, (5) Situated Reading Self-Efficacy mediating the relationship between Perceived Instructional Thematic Unit and General Reading Self-Efficacy, and (6) Situated Reading Mastery Goals mediating the relationship between Perceived Instructional Reading Awareness and General Intrinsic Reading Motivation. Using Baron and Kenny’s (1986) steps, the following three regression equations were used to test for mediation in each pairing: (1) situated motivation regressed on perceptions of instruction, (2) general motivation regressed on perceptions of instruction, and (3) general motivation regressed on both situated motivation and perceptions of instruction. In all analyses, the relationship between perceptions of reading instruction and general reading motivations was significantly mediated by situated reading motivations.

Scholarly Significance – Myriad studies have found that instruction can influence motivation for reading (e.g., Guthrie et al., 2006, 2007). However, the process behind how instruction changes general reading motivations has not been specified. The current study found that situated reading motivations that occur for specific texts during instruction mediate this relationship (i.e., perceptions of instruction influence situated reading motivations, which influence general reading motivations).

Authors

• Amanda Mason-Singh, University of Maryland - College Park

• John T. Guthrie, University of Maryland