Factors That Foster or Hinder Student Reading Motivation in a Suburban Primary School

Abstract

Readingtakes a large amount of effort, but if students are without the motivation to read, they will put little effort into the task of reading (Guthrie, Perencevich, Tonks, and Wigfield, 2004). According to the report of the International Student Assessment (PISA) results of the sixty-four participating countries, 37% of the students polled engaged in reading for pleasure (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010). People who engage in reading for pleasure are motivated to read, but someone who is not reading for enjoyment is not motivated to read. (Guthrie et al., 2004) Reading motivation is a very important aspect of a student’s reading process. Many classroom teachers are focused on what they are held accountable for, which is test scores and being in line with the Common Core Standards. The purpose of this study was to explore what teachers did to foster reading motivation according to theory, and to observe what teachers actually did in their classrooms. The research questions that I explored in this study are: How do teachers, in a suburban primary school, set up their classroom libraries and environment related to reading motivation? In what ways do the teachers’ actions and schedules appear to foster or detract from reading motivation?