Dimensions of Reading Attitude of Primary Students

Abstract

The Survey of Reading Attitudes-Primary Level (SRA) was administered orally to 269 first-grade, 240 second-grade, and 236 third-grade students. The responses to the 85-item survey were factored separately by grade by using a principal factor method with varimax rotation. Five factor dimensions were obtained which could be equated to dimensions reported in studies with intermediate grade students who responded to an intermediate form of the SRA. These factor dimensions included: Expressed Reading Difficulty, Reading as Direct Reinforcement, Reading Enjoyment, Comics, and Alternative Learning Modes. The Expressed Reading Difficulty and Comics dimensions were obtained for all three grades. Although the Reading as Direct Reinforcement and Reading Enjoyment Dimensions were obtained for both the second- and third-grade samples, these two dimensions merged to form a single dimension for the first-grade sample. The Alternative Learning Modes dimension emerged only for the third-grade sample. The results provided evidence for the multidimensionality of primary students' reading attitudes. Grade differences in the obtained factor structures may reflect the differentiation of reading attitudes as a result of developmental processes and/or the greater differentiation of reading experiences as the student matures and progresses through school.