Reading development in students who are second language learners (SLLs) has been a concern of many educators. It is important to understand reading development in students who are SLLs to effectively support their reading development. The dissertation consists of two studies, presented in two stand-alone manuscripts, that aimed to deepen our understanding in the role of general knowledge and reading motivation in reading development in students who are SLLs, along with students who are monolinguals (MLs). Students who were MLs were also included in the studies to explore how similar or different the role of general knowledge and reading motivation are in reading development of students who are SLLs and students who are MLs. In the first study of this dissertation, I explored the contributions of kindergarten general knowledge and third-grade reading motivation to reading growth from first through fifth grade in U.S. students, using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99. The longitudinal associations of the predictors with reading growth were examined because the findings can contribute to understanding reading difficulties emerging in later grades. The main statistical approaches included factor analysis to identify motivational constructs and multi-group latent growth modeling to examine how the two predictors simultaneously predict reading growth, while controlling for early decoding skills and demographic covariates. The results indicated that early general knowledge predicted reading growth to a similar extent between the two groups (approximately beta = .20 on a growth slope). In addition, third-grade reader self-perception explained reading growth similarly in both groups (approximately beta = .09 on a growth slope), even after accounting for early general knowledge. In the second study of this dissertation, I investigated the role of fourth-grade science knowledge (a proxy for general knowledge) and reading motivation in fourth-grade reading comprehension of informational and narrative texts. The study used three merged international datasets (PIRLS 2011, TIMSS 2011, and the combined dataset of TIMSS and PIRLS 2011). By using the international datasets, the study was able to investigate reading development in fourth-grade students from five countries. Factor analyses were used to identify motivational constructs for reading, and the associations of reading comprehension of each genre with science knowledge and reading motivation were examined with multi-group multilevel regression, controlling for demographic covariates. The results indicated that science knowledge, reader self-perception, and reading attitudes predicted informational and narrative reading comprehension to a similar extent between students who were SLLs and students who were MLs (approximately R2 = .40). The concurrent and longitudinal association between general knowledge and reading development suggests that enhancing knowledge at the beginning of schooling and in the middle grades may support reading development in students who are SLLs as well as students who are MLs. However, policies related to reading development (e.g., the U.S. No Child Left Behind Act) have often focused on enhancing reading skills apart from knowledge development. It is important to convince policy makers that enhancing students’ knowledge has the potential to support reading development not only in students who are MLs but also students who are SLLs. Additionally, the two studies revealed that reader self-perception significantly predicted reading development concurrently and longitudinally for both language groups. Professional development for teachers to enhance reader self-perception of students may benefit students’ reading development, regardless of language status.
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Do Knowledge and Motivation Matter? The Role of General Knowledge and Reading Motivation in Reading Achievement in the Elementary Years
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