The Missouri Reader Vol. 36, Issue 1 | Page 22

A Classroom Environment that
Fosters Reading Motivation
Rather than rely solely on extrinsic rewards to
motivate students to read, teachers should strive
to create an environment in which the students
will be motivated to read. To create a classroom
that fosters reading motivation, teachers must
consider their role, the role of the classroom
instruction, and the role of the students.

The Role of the Teacher
A teacher should be a reading model for his or
her students. Teachers who share their
enthusiasm for reading can have a tremendous
impact on students‘ motivation to read (Pitcher
et al., 2007; Lesesne, 2006). Students‘
motivation for reading is positively influenced by
hearing about books enjoyed by their teachers
(Pitcher et al., 2007; Lesesne, 2006; Reeves,
2004). Teachers who actively read convey a
message to their students that reading is an
important and exciting activity.
According to Wigfield and Asher (1984), the
interaction between the teacher and student has a
significant impact on reading motivation. More
specifically, Wigfield & Asher (1984) discussed
the impact of teacher expectations on student
achievement relative to a study that compared the
reading achievement of students of two different
groups of teachers. One group believed that boys
and girls had an equal chance at learning to read
while the other group believed that girls were
able to learn to read more easily. The reading
achievement scores did not differ significantly at
the beginning of the school year, but at the end of
the school year, the scores of the students whose
teachers believed that girls tend to learn to read
more easily than boys showed significant gender
differences favoring the girls. The students of the
teachers who believed that both genders had an

equal chance at learning to read showed no
gender differences. This study suggests how a
teacher‘s belief in the educability of his or her
students influences their achievement.
Sweet et al., (1998) examined teacher
perceptions and student reading motivation.
They concluded that as teachers‘ perceptions of
student motivation increased, the students‘
engagement increased. Similarly, as students‘
engagement increased, teacher perceptions of
their motivation also increased. They found that
students who were perceived to be more
intrinsically motivated received higher grades
than the students who were more extrinsically
motivated.
Oldfather & Dahl (1994) found that students‘
motivation to read declined as they entered
middle school because of changes in the
classroom conditions. Students in their study
moved from self-contained, responsive
classrooms where no grades were assigned to a
teacher-centered environment in which students
had fewer opportunities for self-expression and
few opportunities for negotiating with teachers
about their learning. This drastic change in
classroom environment led to a decrease in
motivation to read.
Guthrie et al., (1997) and Pressley (2002)
also attributed the decline in motivation for
literacy during the middle grades to the
competition among students that is more likely to
occur. This competition lowers intrinsic
motivation among students. Guthrie & Wigfield
(2000) noted that practices that focus on social
comparisons between children, with too much
competition between them, can lead to declines
in reading motivation. Pressley (2002) echoed
this by noting that practices such as ―calling in‖
grades or retrieving papers from the ―graded bin‖
undermine the academic motivation of students.
©The Missouri Reader, 36 (1) p. 22