An Insight into Middle School Students’ Motivation to Read

Session presented at the annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers, St. Petersburg, FL.

Program

Prior research suggests that students experience a decrease in intrinsic motivation to read as they matriculate from elementary to middle school. Given the established link between motivation and achievement, this deterioration in motivation is important. While it is clear that a decline in motivation exists, less is known about why it occurs. This research uses interview data with sixth graders to explore reasons for engaging or disengaging with text.