READING MOTIVATION - A DOMAIN-SPECIFIC APPROACH TO MOTIVATION

I discuss research on the nature of motivation in the domain of readin g, making a case for the need to examine the domain specificity of mot ivational constructs. After a review of relevant motivation theory and research, I describe the development of a questionnaire measure of re ading motivation and summarize the results of 2 studies that utilized the questionnaire. From the studies' results, it is clear that childre n's reading motivation is multidimensional and that it relates to both the frequency of their reading and their reading performance. Certain of the aspects of reading motivation may be unique to reading. I conc lude with a discussion of the development of reading motivation and ho w reading motivation is influenced by different classroom contexts and programs.