Young Children’s Perceptions of a Reading Intervention: A Longitudinal Case Study of Motivation and Engagement

Abstract

Although it is widely accepted that reading motivation erodes over the elementary years and school experiences shape motivation, few have examined young readers’ motivation for their reading intervention programs. This two-year qualitative case study probed the motivation-related perceptions of four young children specific to their involvement in a reading intervention program. Students’ motivation-related perceptions (collected in the spring of kindergarten and again in first grade) were considered alongside adult evaluations of engagement to infer how the intervention was shaping their motivation to read within it and to observe changes in their motivation over time. Despite identifying aspects of the intervention they valued, all children reported more costs the second year and most became less willing to participate in the program.