Enriching the Construct Structure of L2 Reading Motivation: Learners’ Attitudes in Focus

The systematic study of second language (L2) reading motivation has been a more recent topic in L2 motivation literature. The purpose of the current study was to highlight the role of L2 reading attitudes in developing the construct of L2 reading motivation. Participants of the study included 192 Iranian EFL learners at B1 level of language proficiency corresponding to the intermediate level. The data related to L2 reading attitudes and L2 reading motivation of the participants were collected through administering the L2 reading attitude and L2 reading motivation questionnaires, respectively. The items from the two measures were mixed and then factor analyzed. The results of statistical analyses revealed that a six-factor solution was the best way to conceptualize the L2 reading motivation construct among the Iranian EFL learners. The factors included both L2 motivational (reading interest) and L2 attitudinal items. This construct of L2 reading motivation was found more effective in predicting the reading achievement of the learners when compared with the reading motivation construct lacking the L2 reading attitude items.     

Reading and Writing Motivation of Third to Sixth Graders

Motivational questionnaires (MRP-R and MWP) were used to investigate reading and writing motivation (self-concept and value) among 252 Hebrew-speaking students in third to sixth grade. CFA for reading and writing motivation revealed a close to reasonable fit, for the total sample and by gender. It yielded a low fit across the four grade levels. Four main results were obtained: (1) reading and writing motivation remained at the same level in all four grades; (2) reading motivation was higher than writing motivation; (3) students’ self-concept was higher than value in both reading and writing; (4) value of reading was higher than value of writing. It is suggested that educators take into account the importance of increasing reading and writing motivation in the early years of elementary school, before motivation stabilizes in third grade. Additionally, attention should be paid to the value that students attach to reading and especially writing, since it may be related to their involvement in reading and writing tasks. Further examination and development of the questionnaire assessing writing motivation is required. More implications of the results for developmental aspects of reading and writing motivation are discussed.     

Emergent Motivation to Read in Prekindergarten Children

This study aimed to develop and validate a measure of emergent reading motivation designed for prekindergarten children, called the Emergent Reading Motivation Scale (ERMS). The development of the ERMS was to overcome the limitation that current existing reading motivation measures are not developmentally appropriate for young children. Fifty-six native-English speaking children who were enrolled in a prekindergarten program participated in the study. The ERMS had 17 items that were drawn from reading self-concept, reading performance goal, and reading learning goal. The scale was administered through two sock puppets. For each item, the puppets represented contrasting behaviors regarding reading motivation. The children were asked to choose the puppet that was most like themselves. Results suggested that the ERMS is an age-appropriate reading motivation measure for prekindergarten children and has a three-factor structure as assumed even though its internal consistency is moderate and is of limited predictive power of emergent literacy skills.     

Dimensions of stuttering and relationship to psychopathology

This article reports two studies. The first attempted to define stable dimensions within the Stuttering Severity (SS) scale. A factor analysis of correlations among its 64 items defined four factor-based subscales, and three additional subscales were developed rationally. Relationships among these seven subscales suggested the existence of two major dimensions. The second study investigated the relationship of the seven subscales to psychopathology. Correlations were obtained among the subscales and MMPI scales for 69 subjects, and were subjected to a second factor analysis. The MMPI scales and the SS subscales clearly loaded on separate factors, indicating little relationship between dimensions of stuttering and psychopathology as defined by MMPI scores. The second analysis also supported the previous identification of two general dimensions for stuttering. Items were selected for two final scales to represent these dimensions, labeled behavior (22 items) and sensitivity (20 items). Norms were developed for them and also for the full 64-item SS scale.     

L2 Reading Motivation Among Sri Lankan University Students

This study investigated the extent of the motivational processes that facilitated the text comprehension among 406 Sri Lankan university students in Sri Lanka. Students’ L2 text comprehension and reading motivation were assessed using a reading comprehension test and a reading motivation and attitude questionnaire. The Principal Componential Analysis identified four constructs of intrinsic motivation and four constructs of extrinsic motivation. The relationship between these constructs and text comprehension was examined using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The final model fitted the data well, indicating that only intrinsic motivational constructs positively contributed to text comprehension when associated with extrinsic motivation.     

Nursing Motives for Helping Scale (N-MHS): reliability and validity

This paper presents the Nursing Motives for Helping Scale (N-MHS), an instrument designed for the evaluation of three of the four motives for helping derived from Batson's helping pathway theory. Dimensionality was analyzed by means of principal component analysis (n = 113), followed by confirmatory factor analysis. A 3-factor structure (corresponding to Batson's differentiation among altruistic motivation, reward-seeking motivation, and punishment-avoidance motivation, respectively), with 9 items distributed in three latent variables, revealed an acceptable fit to the data. Alpha values (.60 - .74) showed that internal consistency was acceptable for a newly developed subscale with a small number of items. Convergence validity was evaluated with correlations between N-MHS subscales scores and scores on the Professional Expectations Scale (Garrosa, Moreno-Jiménez, Rodríguez-Carvajal, and Morante, 2005). The three resulting subscales are a promising instrument for the evaluation of three nursing motives for helping that can contribute to reduce the potential risks and to improve the potential benefits both for the nurse and the patient.     

Examining Associations Between Reading Motivation and Inference Generation Beyond Reading Comprehension Skill

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between reading motivation and inference generation while reading. Undergraduate participants (N = 69) read two science articles while thinking aloud, completed a standardized reading comprehension assessment, and self reported their habitual reading motivation. Findings indicate that overall reading motivation, one component of intrinsic motivation (reading as a sense of self), and one component of extrinsic motivation (reading to do well in other realms) were positively associated with text-connecting inference generation independent of reading comprehension skill. These findings are discussed in the context of standards of coherence.     

Validation of the revised sport motivation scale (SMS-II)

ObjectivesAlthough the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS), published in 1995, has demonstrated validity and reliability in multiple studies, the scale has received some criticisms leading to revisions herein described. The objective of the present studies was to examine the construct validity and reliability of a revised scale sport motivation scale (SMS-II).DesignTwo studies were conducted using distinct samples of athletes. Study 1 examined adult athletes participating in a variety of sports and Study 2 examined youth basketball players and swimmers.MethodIn Study 1 the SMS-II was introduced and featured various item content changes, a reduced number of items per subscale, the addition of an integrated regulation subscale, and the introduction of a single intrinsic motivation subscale to replace the three intrinsic motivation subscales in the SMS. Relations of SMS-II subscales with each other and with expected outcomes supported the new scale's validity. In Study 2, the structure of the SMS-II and its relations with outcomes were further examined.ResultsResults of factor analyses, tests for internal consistency, and correlations among the different subscales and between the subscales and several outcomes of interest, supported the validity of the SMS-II.ConclusionsDiscussion focuses on the need for measurement improvement, and potential future directions for SMS-II research.     

Motivation for Reading and Writing in Kindergarten Children

This study characterizes the reading and writing motivations of kindergarten children. Four hundred fifty-one children participated in the study, answering questions measuring value, self-concept, and enjoyment of reading and writing. A factor analysis validated the conceptual motivational constructs. Findings indicate that kindergarten children have high motivation for both reading and writing, although scores for writing motivation were not as high as those for reading. Among the group studied, boys’ and girls’ motivational profiles are not markedly differentiated. Implications for future research and educational practices are discussed.     

家庭社会经济地位对初中生阅读成就的影响：阅读动机和阅读活动的中介作用

为探讨阅读动机和阅读活动在家庭社会经济地位与阅读成就关系之间的中介机制,采用问卷法对我国东部某省3所学校468名7～9年级学生进行调查,使用结构方程建模的方法对中介模型进行检验。结果表明：家庭社会经济地位、阅读动机、阅读活动及阅读成就之间呈显著正相关;家庭社会经济地位对阅读成就的直接效应不显著,但可以通过阅读动机和阅读活动的链式中介作用对阅读成就产生间接的影响。     

A WORKER MOTIVATION SCALE

A 70 item questionnaire was constructed using the rationale of several current value/expectancy theories of motivation and the results of two prior factor analyses of motivation items. It was completed anonymously by 240 employed adults in 35 organizations and the resulting factor analysis yielded a hierarchical structure of motivation and eight reliable subscales. Direct and indirect criterion measures also obtained via the questionnaire and covering job characteristics/components; satisfaction (need) levels for n ach, n affil, n power ; the four elements of Heider's attribution theory of motivation; and salary, education and job classification were used to validate the subscales. Support for the criteria was found and promising validities were indicated. Lastly, personal, job and organizational variables were included with the motivation subscales and criteria in a subsequent factor analysis to examine moderator effects of the obtained validities. Results are discussed in terms of motivation theories, validities, moderator effects in study designs, and future use of the questionnaire by other researchers with business-industrial samples.     

Preliminary validation of a Spanish version of the Sport Motivation Scale

The Sport Motivation Scale was developed in French and later translated into English and validated by Pelletier, et al. in 1995. It is based on the principles of self-determination theory. In this study the scale was translated into Spanish to assess and validate it for a sample of 275 athletes (78 women and 197 men) whose mean age was 21.3 yr. (SD=3.8) and who represented eight sports (track and field, tennis, swimming, waterpolo, soccer, basketball, handball, and volleyball). The Spanish version showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach alpha of .70 to .80) and temporal stability (test-retest r = .69 to .74) over a 4-wk. period. A confirmatory factor analysis partially supported the seven-factor structure. Correlations among the subscales indicated a simplex pattern supporting the construct validity of the scale. Sex differences were found. Taken together, these findings support use of the Spanish version for assessment of motivation in sport.     

Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction,reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries

Researchers from 13 countries collaborated in constructing a psychometric scale to measure career adaptability. Based on four pilot tests, a research version of the proposed scale consisting of 55 items was field tested in 13 countries. The resulting Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) consists of four scales, each with six items. The four scales measure concern, control, curiosity, and confidence as psychosocial resources for managing occupational transitions, developmental tasks, and work traumas. The CAAS demonstrated metric invariance across all the countries, but did not exhibit residual/strict invariance or scalar invariance. The reliabilities of the CAAS subscales and the combined adaptability scale range from acceptable to excellent when computed with the combined data. As expected, the reliability estimates varied across countries. Nevertheless, the internal consistency estimates for the four subscales of concern, control, curiosity, and confidence were generally acceptable to excellent. The internal consistency estimates for the CAAS total score were excellent across all countries. Separate articles in this special issue report the psychometric characteristics of the CAAS, including initial validity evidence, for each of the 13 countries that collaborated in constructing the Scale.     

The Contributions of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Reading Motivation to the Development of Reading Competence over Summer Vacation

This study addressed the role of reading motivation as a potential determinant of losses or gains in reading competence over six weeks of summer vacation (SV). Based on a sample of 223 third-grade elementary students, structural equation analyses showed that intrinsic reading motivation before SV contributed positively to both word and sentence comprehension after SV when controlling for comprehension performance before SV. These effects were mediated by reading amount. Extrinsic reading motivation did not show significant associations with end-of-summer comprehension scores. Taken together, the findings suggest that intrinsic reading motivation facilitates students’ development of reading comprehension over SV.     

中学生阅读动机与阅读时间、阅读成绩的关系研究

采用问卷调查法对３５３名初、高中学生的阅读动机、阅读时间及阅读成绩进行了调查,结果发现：１．中学生的阅读动机是多维度的,包括内部动机、外部动机、社会性动机与自我效能,它们之间相互影响、相互联系;２．中学生阅读动机水平的高低与阅读时间、阅读成绩存在极为显著的正相关,其中,内部动机对中学生阅读时间、阅读成绩的影响要大于其它因素的影响;３．中学生的阅读动机发展特点具有性别帮年级差异,趋势是初中生优于高中     

Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: Examination of Reasons for Academic Study based on the Theory of Internalization

In contrast with the view that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are antagonistic, the view proposed in this article is that they are anchors of a continuous variable. According to the theory set out here, intrinsic motivation develops by means of internalization. This gives rise to four types of motivation: external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic. The main purpose of this study was to construct a scale to measure these four types of motivation for academic achievement and then to examine its validity. The Stepping Motivation Scale, created by the author, was administered to 483 junior high school students. Intercorrelations among the four subscales conformed to a simplex structure, and documented a continuum from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. To clarify the distinction among the four types of motivation, relevant variables such as causal attributions and coping behaviors in failing situations, beliefs in links between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and teachers' evaluation of students' motivation were related to motivation types. A difference in motivational types was exhibited in the differential patterns of correlations.     

Reading Motivation and Reading Engagement: Clarifying Commingled Conceptions

The constructs of motivation for reading and reading engagement have frequently become blurred and ambiguous in both research and discussions of practice. To address this commingling of constructs, the authors provide a concise review of the literature on motivation for reading and reading engagement and illustrate the blurring of those concepts in theoretical discussions and in measurement instruments. The authors then identify differences, clarify the constructs, and show how distinguishing reading motivation from engagement can deepen our understanding of their uniqueness and interplay. Implications for research and applications to instruction are explored.     

数学家庭作业动机量表在中国青少年群体中的信效度检验

目的:在中国青少年中对数学家庭作业动机量表进行修订并考察其信效度。方法:采用方便取样选取762名青少年,对数学家庭作业动机量表进行项目分析、探索性因素分析、验证性因素分析、测量等值性检验以及信效度分析。结果:中文版数学家庭作业动机量表包括认同调节、内部动机、外在调节和内摄调节4个因素,并具有跨性别和跨年龄组的测量等值性以及良好的效标效度和信度。结论:修订后的数学家庭作业动机量表具有良好的心理测量学指标,可以作为测量和评估中国青少年数学家庭作业动机的有效工具。