Dissertation Theses

Reading motivation in Chinese and English in Hong Kong secondary schools students: Influence of schools and demographic factors

Title:
Reading motivation in Chinese and English in Hong Kong secondary schools students: Influence of schools and demographic factors
Authors:
- Lee, Kwok Wai The Education University of Hong Kong
Year Published:
2018
Education Categories:
Keywords:
Reading Motivation Dual Languages Self-determination Theory Teacher Support Peer Support MOI Gender Grade SES
Region:
- Hong Kong
Period:
- 1997.7 onwards
Level:
- Secondary Education
Abstract:
This study examined reading motivation in Hong Kong secondary school students, taking account of school-related factors of medium of instruction, teacher support and peer support and demographic factors of gender, grade and socio-economic status. Specifically, the research questions were: (1) How are the school factors of medium of instruction, teacher support and peer support related to reading motivation in Chinese (first language; L1) and reading motivation in English (second language; L2)? (2) How are the demographic factors of socio-economic status, gender and grade related to reading motivation in Chinese and English? and (3) Are there differential patterns of prediction of school factors and demographic factors for Chinese and English reading motivation? The SRQ-Reading Motivation Questionnaire, designed to measure reading motivation as conceptualized by Self-Determination Theory (SDT), was adopted. Nine hundred and forty-one secondary school students participated in this study, from the grade levels of secondary one, four and six in seven secondary schools in Hong Kong. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that their reading motivation was comprised of two factors, Autonomous Chinese Reading Motivation (ACRM), Autonomous English Reading Motivation (AERM), Controlled Chinese Reading Motivation (CCRM) and Controlled English Reading Motivation (CERM). To address the three research questions, structural equation modeling was used to investigate the relationships among the variables examined in the present study. The findings showed that Teacher Support significantly predicted all reading motivation outcomes. A higher level of teacher support was associated with higher levels of autonomous and controlled reading motivation in the two languages. Peer Support was also a significant predictor of all reading motivation outcomes. Surprisingly, peer support had a negative relationship with controlled reading motivation in Chinese and in English but a positive relationship with autonomous reading motivation in both languages. Medium of Instruction was significantly associated with Autonomous Reading Motivation in English, with students from schools with English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI) having higher Autonomous English Reading Motivation than those from schools with Chinese as the Medium of Instruction (CMI). There was a positive relationship between gender and Autonomous Chinese Reading Motivation, with the correlation being higher for girls than for boys. Grade level was not associated with Autonomous Chinese Reading Motivation or Autonomous English Reading Motivation. For socio-economic status, there was a significant relationship with autonomous reading motivation in English and no significant relationship in controlled reading motivation in either language. To conclude, teacher support and peer support were found to be more important factors influencing Hong Kong secondary school students’ reading motivation in Chinese and English than other factors examined in the present study. Reading motivation in the two languages was predicted by similar factors. All rights reserved.
Degree Type:
EdD
Institution:
The Education University of Hong Kong
School Location:
Hong Kong
Language:
- English
Document Type:
Dissertation Theses
Permalink:
https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/72ee75c4
Entry Date:
2023-01-05