Relationship between reading comprehension, reading motivation and strategy use

Abstract

This study analyses the relationships between reading comprehension, reading motivation and reading strategies. The cross-sectional data collection involved 200 schoolchildren from Years 6 and 8. The study applied a self-developed reading comprehension test. In addition, participants completed a self-reporting questionnaire, composed of a self-developed reading motivation scale and a reading strategy scale from the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory, both Likert-type scales. Two dimensions of reading motivation were assessed: intrinsic and extrinsic. The questionnaire involved three groups of reading strategies: (a) global, (b) problem-solving and (c) support reading strategies. Additional data was collected on subject-related attitudes and school grades. Reliability indices were found to be .90 for the reading comprehension test, .89 for the reading motivation scale and .91 for the reading strategies scale. Reading comprehension was found to be developing significantly between Years 6 and 8, while reading motivation and strategy use seemed to be decreasing in the same period, based on the children’s self-report. Reading motivation showed a medium-strength correlation with reading strategies. Reading comprehension was modestly related to intrinsic reading motivation and weakly linked to global reading strategies. Extrinsic reading motivation and the other two strategies were not significantly tied to reading comprehension. School grades correlated strongly with reading comprehension, moderately with reading motivation and weakly with reading strategies. There was a modest link between attitudes to school subjects and reading motivation, but a weak one with the other two variables. The correlations were found to be similar for both Years 6 and 8.