TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding reading motivation across different text types
T2 - Qualitative insights from children
AU - McGeown, Sarah
AU - Bonsall, Jane
AU - Andries, Valentina
AU - Howarth, Danielle
AU - Wilkinson, Katherine
PY - 2020/7/23
Y1 - 2020/7/23
N2 - Background: Primary school children engage in a wide range of reading activities, yet we lack insights into why children choose to read different text types. Furthermore, recent studies of reading motivation have been dominated by quantitative research; however, qualitative research is necessary to ensure that children's voices are represented when we study their motivations to read. Methods: Thirty-three children (aged 9–11) from a single school in Scotland participated in individual interviews that focused on understanding their breadth of reading activities and why they chose to read different text types. Interviews were transcribed in full, and a data-driven inductive thematic analysis approach was used to ensure that the full complexity of the data was realised. Results: Children's reading motivation varied considerably across the different text types. For example, children read books to feel happy, relaxed, excited or to become immersed in the story. They also read books to develop their reading skills, because they felt reading was important, or because it was a habit or familiar. On the other hand, children read newspapers to stay informed, comics as they were fun and easy to read, interactive games as they could direct the narrative and audio books when they were tired. Overall, children reported a wide and diverse range of reading motivations, these being closely linked to the different text types they read. Conclusions: This study provides new insights into why children choose to read different text types and provides a strong foundation for further qualitative research aimed at gaining a detailed and comprehensive account of children's motivation for reading.
AB - Background: Primary school children engage in a wide range of reading activities, yet we lack insights into why children choose to read different text types. Furthermore, recent studies of reading motivation have been dominated by quantitative research; however, qualitative research is necessary to ensure that children's voices are represented when we study their motivations to read. Methods: Thirty-three children (aged 9–11) from a single school in Scotland participated in individual interviews that focused on understanding their breadth of reading activities and why they chose to read different text types. Interviews were transcribed in full, and a data-driven inductive thematic analysis approach was used to ensure that the full complexity of the data was realised. Results: Children's reading motivation varied considerably across the different text types. For example, children read books to feel happy, relaxed, excited or to become immersed in the story. They also read books to develop their reading skills, because they felt reading was important, or because it was a habit or familiar. On the other hand, children read newspapers to stay informed, comics as they were fun and easy to read, interactive games as they could direct the narrative and audio books when they were tired. Overall, children reported a wide and diverse range of reading motivations, these being closely linked to the different text types they read. Conclusions: This study provides new insights into why children choose to read different text types and provides a strong foundation for further qualitative research aimed at gaining a detailed and comprehensive account of children's motivation for reading.
KW - books
KW - qualitative
KW - reading motivation
KW - text types
KW - theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088286132&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1467-9817.12320
DO - 10.1111/1467-9817.12320
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85088286132
SN - 0141-0423
JO - Journal of Research in Reading
JF - Journal of Research in Reading
ER -