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Introduction

Yaacov Petscher, 2010

Attitudes have long been held as an important psychological construct as they play an important role

in moderating ones level of motivation and intention to read, as well as mediating the relationship

between an individuals beliefs and reading activities

Mathewson 1994 defined attitudes as prevailing feelings about reading, action readiness for reading

and evaluative beliefs about reading. McKenna 1995 identified beliefs about the outcomes of

reading, beliefs about the expectations of others in light of ones motivation and the outcomes ofspecific incidents of reading as key attitude components.

Attitudes children may have about a specific reading activity affect both the amount of reading

children engage in (Ley, Schaer & Dismukes, 1994) and their reading achievement (Burns, Roe &

Ross, 1999; Downing, 1982; Ghaith & Bouzeineddine, 2003; Kush & Watkins, 1996).

Alexander and Cobb (1992) emphasised that attitudes are a prerequisite for reading, and negativeattitudes may be the single greatest predictor of future reading

Negative attitudes towards reading will also impact a students motivation and attention, both

critical to successful achievements in the school setting. Shapiro and White (1991)

Conversely, positive attitudes about reading lead students to seek opportunities to read, have higher

levels of motivation and greater sense of self-esteem (Robinson & Weintraub, 1973).

Instructional activities that will positively influence attitudes towards reading facilitate high levels of

achievement (Barnett & Irwin, 1994), and students who read more become better readers; they

become more proficient in reading fluency and comprehension, vocabulary and cognitive

development (Ivey & Broaddus, 2001).

Reading skills

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Many literacy experts believe that poor reading attitudes are not causal, but consequential,

negatively impacting a childs ability to exert effort to learn new strategies for successful reading

(Ajzen, 1989)

The enhancement of attitudes towards reading, explained by Shapiro and White (1991), has been

dually focused on the improvement of attitudes towards reading across genre and environment as

well as the improvement of overall reading abilities of students.

Shiefele, 2012

Motivation is assumed to be of particular significance because it affects the amount and breadth of

students reading, which, in turn, facilitates the development of reading competence (Mol & Bus,

2011; Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997b).

Seitz 2010

Because reading is an exigent activity that often involves choice, motivation is crucial to

reading engagement

In order for students to develop into effective readers, they must possess both the skill and the willto read

Guthrie and Wigfield (2000), motivation is what activates behavior.