Review of Educational Research
June 2020, Vol. 90, No. 3, pp. 420–456
DOI:10.3102/0034654320919352
Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions
© 2020 AERA. http://rer.aera.net
420
A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relations Between
Motivation and Reading Achievement
for K–12 Students
Jessica R. Toste
The University of Texas at Austin
The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk
Lisa Didion
University of Iowa
Peng Peng , Marissa J. Filderman,
and Amanda M. McClelland
The University of Texas at Austin
The purpose of this meta-analytic review was to investigate the relation
between motivation and reading achievement among students in kindergar-
ten through 12th grade. A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed published
research resulted in 132 articles with 185 independent samples and 1,154
reported effect sizes (Pearson’s r). Results of our random-effects metare-
gression model indicate a significant, moderate relation between motivation
and reading, r = .22, p < .001. Moderation analyses revealed that the moti-
vation construct being measured influenced the relation between motivation
and reading. There were no other significant moderating or interaction
effects related to reading domain, sample type, or grade level. Evidence to
support the bidirectional nature of the relation between motivation and
reading was provided through longitudinal analyses, with findings suggest-
ing that earlier reading is a stronger predictor of later motivation than moti-
vation is of reading. Taken together, the findings from this meta-analysis
provide a better understanding of how motivational processes relate to read-
ing performance, which has important implications for developing effective
instructional practices and fostering students’ active engagement in read-
ing. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for reading
development are discussed.
KEYWORDS: motivation, reading, elementary, secondary, meta-analysis
919352RER XX X 10.3102/0034654320919352Toste et al.Motivation and Reading Achievement
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