Motivational and cognitive contributions to students' amount of reading

The amount that students read for enjoyment and for school is a major contr ibutor to students' reading achievement and knowledge of the world. Consequ ently, it is important to identify the factors that predict amount of readi ng. A literature review revealed that motivation, strategy-use, and past re ading achievement all may be expected to predict reading amount. To examine these variables, a total of 251 students in Grades 3 and 5 was administere d questionnaires of these constructs and a reading test. Results showed tha t amount of reading for enjoyment was predicted most highly by motivation, when all other variables were controlled statistically in multiple-regressi on analyses. In contrast, amount of reading for school was predicted most h ighly by strategy use, when all other variables were controlled. However, t hese predictions were different for students in Grades 3 and 5. Findings of the study indicate that amount of reading is multiply determined by cognit ive and motivational constructs, which is consistent with an engagement per spective on reading development. (C) 2001 Academic Press.