Award Date

8-1-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education

First Committee Member

Jonathan Hilpert

Second Committee Member

E. Michael Nussbaum

Third Committee Member

Lisa Bendixen

Fourth Committee Member

Alain Bengochea

Number of Pages

72

Abstract

This study was designed to examine differences in students’ reading motivation based on the frequencies with which they choose to read over other options. A modified version of the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ; Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997), using four of the eleven categories it was designed to assess including Challenge, Self- Efficacy, Reading Importance and Reading Curiosity. The students were also observed inside the classroom by their teaching staff and their choices were recorded on a Behavioral Analysis Checklist during a structured silent break in their day. The students also indicated whether they felt more confident in reading activities or to engage in others such as math or art. Exploratory factor analysis will demonstrate reliability of the four factors under examination. Students who chose to read over other activities compared to children who did not report minimally statistically significant differences in their perceptions of reading importance or their curiosity to the task of reading. Students who chose to read over other activities did report moderately statistically significant higher perception of their own efficacy and in their desire to pursue reading challenges. These results suggest that teachers can maximize motivation to pursue reading activity by selecting passages that will challenge the readers skills and put less emphasis on the topic as students report no distinction in their curiosity levels based on subject. Classroom instruction can be tailored to identify the skills that students do not feel effective in, and teachers can use those tools to further encourage motivation to pursue challenging reading tasks.

Keywords

Achievement; Choice; Elementary; Expectancy Value; Motivation; Self Determination

Disciplines

Educational Psychology

File Format

pdf

File Size

1032 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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