Abstract
Previous studies have documented robust relationships between emergent literacy and later reading performance. A growing body of research has also reported associations between motivational factors and reading in early phases of reading development. However, there is less research about cross-lagged relationships between motivational factors and reading skills in beginning readers. To examine relationships between early reading skills, literacy interest and reader self-concept, we tested 1141 children twice during their first year of formal reading instruction in school. Cross-lagged analysis showed strong stability in reading skills and medium stability in literacy interest and reader self-concept over the first school year. We also found bidirectional relationships between reading skills and self-concept and between the motivational components of literacy interest and reader self-concept. In the final part of the article, we address the potential theoretical progress attainable through the use of cross-lagged designs in this field.
Highlights
Children who are driven by interest are likely to devote more time and effort to reading tasks and often feel more competent as readers (Ecalle, Magnan & Gibert, 2006)
The intraclass correlation (ICC) associated with literacy interest, reader self-concept and emergent literacy/reading skills were all quite low: .039, .001 and .055, respectively, at T1 and .019, .035 and .045, respectively, at T2
Before embedding our constructs of literacy interest (LI), reader self-concept (RSC) and emergent literacy/reading skills in a cross-lagged model, we investigated the fit of each construct to its indicators in separate one-factor models1 Reader self
Summary
Children who are driven by interest are likely to devote more time and effort to reading tasks and often feel more competent as readers (Ecalle, Magnan & Gibert, 2006). Students who see themselves as good readers will anticipate success in academic situations and often perform better at academic tasks than students who exhibit poor self-belief and anticipate failure (Murphy & Alexander, 2000; Zimmerman, 2000). Both literacy interest and reader self-concept are considered important for students’ learning and for the development of reading skills. The state of the art in motivation research suggests that reading skills, literacy interest and reader self-concept develop in an interrelated way. The findings from our study, with its particular time window, illustrate the dynamic interplay between motivation and skill
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