Assessing Adolescents' Motivation to Read

TLDR

Researchers updated the Motivation to Read Profile for adolescents. They administered a revised survey and interview instrument to 384 teens across eight sites and 100 students, probing fiction, expository, and computer‑based reading, school instruction, and perceived difficulty. Students’ academic reading and writing experiences conflicted with their interests and needs, leading authors to recommend aligning classroom reading and instruction with students’ preferred types.

Abstract

A team of researchers revised the Motivation to Read Profile for use with adolescents. Instruments to assess adolescents' in‐ and out‐of‐school reading motivations were administered. A survey adapted for adolescents was administered to 384 teens at eight sites throughout the United States and Trinidad, and 100 students were interviewed using a revised instrument designed to capture the real reading of adolescents today. The teens were asked questions about fiction, expository, and computer‐based reading materials; about what instruction in school motivated them to read; and in which classes was the reading material most difficult. Results revealed that student experiences with academic reading and writing did not match their interests and needs. The authors offer many recommendations for how students' preferred types of reading and instruction can be used in middle school and high school classrooms.