California Preschool Learning Foundations - ECEZero2Three ...

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
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and Ellsworth 1995). The beliefs, motivation,
and purposes of individuals
influence their decisions about which
activities to do, how long to do them,
and how much effort to put into them
(Bandura 1997; Eccles, Wigfield, and
Schiefele 1998; Pintrich and Schunk
1996). The literature on motivation
makes a distinction between “intrinsic
motivation,” which refers to being
motivated to do an activity for its own
sake and out of interest and curiosity,
and “extrinsic motivation,” or doing an
activity to receive an award or other
form of recognition (Guthrie, Wigfield,
and Von Secker 2000). Both intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation influence the
amount and frequency of children’s
reading. However, research has shown
that intrinsic motivation is a stronger
predictor of reading achievement than
is extrinsic motivation (Baker and
Wigfield 1999; Gottfried 1990; Schultz
and Switzky 1993; Wigfield and Guthrie
1997). Motivation toward reading
influences individuals’ engagement
with reading and literacy activities by
facilitating their entry into a “psychological
state of interest” (Krapp, Hidi,
and Renniger 1992), in which individuals
demonstrate increased attention,
cognitive functioning, and persistence
in different literacy tasks, as well as an
increase in their affective investment
(Hidi, 1990; Krapp, Hidi, and Renniger
1992). Reading in this state of interest
facilitates comprehension and recall of
information (see Anderson 1982; Asher
1979, 1980; Bernstein 1955; Estes
and Vaughan 1973; Hidi 2001; Hidi
and Baird 1986, 1988; Kintsch 1980;
Schank 1979; Schraw, Bruning, and
Svoboda 1995).
Studies about interest and motivation
toward reading and literacy have
most extensively been conducted
with school-age children and college
students. Nonetheless, an emerging
research base shows that interest and
motivation are also factors in preschool
reading achievement (Scarborough
and Dobrich 1994; Whitehurst
and Lonigan 1998). Research with
young children has confirmed that
they have strong, stable, and relatively
well-focused individual interests that
influence their attention, recognition,
and recall of information during literacy
activities, such as shared storybook
reading (Renninger and Wozniak
1985). In addition, children’s active
engagement in text-related activities,
such as turning pages in a book, is
related to knowledge of print concepts
at four years of age (Crain-Thoresen
and Dale 1992). Preschool children
who are engaged and attentive during
literacy activities achieve greater literacy
gains in these activities (Justice
and others 2003).
A positive relationship exists
between children’s interest in reading
and their opportunities for reading at
home and school. Children who are
read to more frequently and from an
earlier age tend to have a greater interest
in literacy, exhibit superior literacy
skills during the preschool and school
years, choose reading more frequently,
initiate reading sessions on their own,
and show greater engagement during
reading sessions (Lonigan 1994; Scarborough
and Dobrich 1994). Guthrie
and others (1996) have also reported
that increasing literacy engagement
and expanded reading activity are tied
to increases in intrinsic motivation,
whereas decreased literacy engagement
is reflected in decreased intrinsic
motivation. In short, adult-child
storybook reading promotes children’s
interest in and motivation for reading,
Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1 • California Department of Education