Date of Award

5-2022

Access Control

Open Access

Degree Name

International Graduate Program for Educators - M. S. in Multidisciplinary studies

Department

International Graduate Program for Educators

Abstract

In my role as a high school principal, I feel that reading is an essential tool for gaining a better grasp of the world around us and enhancing one's academic skills. As is the case with many others in my area, and before starting this research, I was worried about the decline in motivation to read for leisure that generally begins in the high school years (Brozo et al., 2014). Students' enjoyment of reading can be stifled by schools' use of forced reading practices, the selection of texts that do not match their identity, and a lack of knowledge of how they identify with reading media and/or their own experiences. (Bozack, 2011; Hochweber & Vieluf, 2018). One of the fundamental and common problems I have read in reading motivation research and found within our school context is that the reading variable itself is confusing which means that high ability readers are highly motivated whereas the less ability students are identified as less motivated students. Roettger (1980) also found this conceptualization incorrect. This means that I can find excellent readers in my school who might not be motivated to read at all, while there might be students who are less proficient readers but adamant to read and are highly motivated.

Having said that and keeping reading experiences into perspective, one of the most fundamental tasks of a school is to address this issue and connect readers with books and other materials. The critical nature of reading abilities in education, the percentage of teenagers who describe reading as an activity they engage in has steadily declined (Brozo et al.,2014). Due to decline in student motivation and rigidness to read for leisure, I considered it significant to examine the experiences that motivate high school students primarily grades nine and grade ten to read, so that such experiences are made common across high school.

Comments

RQ1: What are the factors that impact high school students' motivation or demotivation to read for leisure?

RQ2: What can teachers do to keep high school students motivated and engaged to support leisure reading?

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