Children's Attitudes toward Reading: A National Survey

Abstract

Studied reading attitudes of a stratified national sample of 18,185 children in Grades 1-6. Results supported a model of reading attitude in which social factors and expectations gradually shape attitudes over time. Recreational and academic reading attitudes, on average, became more negative gradually, but steadily, throughout the elementary school years. The trend toward more negative recreational attitudes was clearly related to ability and was steepest for least able readers. Girls as a group possessed more favorable attitudes than boys at all grade levels, toward both recreational and academic reading. Ethnicity played little role in negative trends in either recreational or academic reading attitude. The extent of a teacher's reliance on basal readers did not appear to be meaningfully related to recreational or academic reading attitude