Latent Profiles of Reading Motivation in Adolescent Native-Spanish-Speaker Multilingual Learners

Abstract

Reading motivation may elucidate discrepancies in reading achievement among multilingual high school students whose first language is Spanish. Utilizing a person-centered approach to investigate underlying reading motivation profiles among N = 174 adolescent native Spanish speakers (NSS), analyses yielded three latent profiles of reading motivation, including (a) an “Average” (AVG) class characterized by slightly above-average scores on the reading self-concept (RSC) factor and slightly below-average scores on the reading attitude (RA) factor, (b) an “Above Average” (AA) class characterized by above average scores on both RSC and RA factors, and (c) a “High RSC-Low RA” (HRSC-LRA) class characterized by the highest RSC factor scores and below-average RA factor scores. The three reading motivation profiles were significantly associated with demographic covariates (e.g., gender and length of residency in the U.S.), consistent with previous research. Further, latent profile membership was a significant predictor of English reading proficiency scores on the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs). We discuss practical implications and provide suggestions for future research.