Describing the Reading Motivation of Four Second-Grade Students with Varying Abilities Kathy White Department of Teacher Education Master of Arts The purpose of this study was to describe the differences and similarities among four second-grade students with different abilities and different motivations in the development of their reading attitudes and motivations. A multi-case study design was used to describe the literacy profiles of the participants. Data relating to participants' attitudes, motivations, and values for reading were collected for six weeks from conversational interviews, student observations, parent interviews, student histories, and interviews with previous teachers. Four major results were found in the areas of attitudes, motivations, and values. First, the results for attitudes showed high-ability students were confident readers who were motivated to take a leadership role in collaborating about reading. Students with low abilities had poorer reading self-efficacy, blamed others for not being able to read, thought they were unlucky in reading, and lacked the confidence needed to collaborate with others about their reading. Second, results for assessing motivation were unpredictable and varied from student to student. High- and- low- ability students were motivated by both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. A third result showed participants in the study whose families were more involved in supporting reading at home, regardless of the participants' reading abilities, had high self-esteem, had future goals for learning, and were more motivated to read than the student from the home without achievement related values. Fourth, reading motivation scales may not be accurate with early elementary students. Qualitative methods are a more accurate source of information about young children's motivations to read. Hoping to read, another aspect of motivation, is discussed.

The current study investigated the Pritchard-Ashwood (P-A) Theory of Motivation (Pritchard & Ashwood, 2008) by examining a measure of P-A Theory labeled the Motivation Assessment System (MAS). P-A Theory combines prior motivation theories such as expectancy theory, goal setting theory, justice theory, and needs theory and consolidates them into one integrated theory of motivation. In essence, P-A theory posits that one’s motivation is determined by four perceptions, including the extent to which one believes: (a) his/her actions will lead to results, (b) his/her results will lead to positive evaluations, (c) his/her evaluations will lead to positive outcomes, and (d) his/her outcomes will satisfy his/her needs. The MAS is designed to capture P-A Theory by assessing these four perceptions, and this dissertation examined tenets of P-A Theory by investigating the measurement properties of the MAS via confirmatory factor analysis. Findings showed that the model set forth by P-A Theory had the best fit compared to the other competing models when analyzing MAS data, suggesting the MAS is an appropriate measure of P-A Theory. This research should help to bridge the gap between motivation theory and practice by providing initial evidence of support for a practical measure that captures the full spectrum of employee motivation as set forth in P-A Theory. Recommendations for future research using the MAS to study motivation are suggested.

An analysis of interrater agreement across multiple respondents on anecdotal assessments was compared with experimental functional analysis outcomes for correspondence. Experiment 1 evaluated the agreement of multiple respondents on the function of problem behavior for 22 individuals across 42 target behaviors using the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) and the Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF). Results showed agreement on the primary maintaining consequence for 4 or 5 of the 5 respondents in 52% (22/42) of the individual's target behaviors with the MAS and 57% (24/42) with the QABF. Experiment 2 examined whether correspondence occurred between the anecdotal assessment results and experimental functional analysis (EFA) results for 7 individuals selected from Experiment 1. Correspondence between the QABF assessment and the EFA was found for 6 of 7 participants, and 4 of the 7 showed correspondence between the EFA and the MAS. This study showed that the QABF had higher correspondence with analog assessments than the MAS thus, supporting the previous findings of Paclawskyj et al. (2001).

We administered the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) and the Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) to five raters and compared the results with functional analysis outcomes for 12 cases in which agreement was obtained for at least four out of five raters on either anecdotal assessment. The scores for functional categories on the MAS and QABF were ranked by averaging the scores for the raters who agreed on the primary maintaining variable. Functional analysis results were ranked by examining average responding across all conditions. A comparison showed correspondence between the highest category and the highest functional analysis condition for 10 out of 11 cases for the MAS and all 10 cases for the QABF. Correspondence for the category and condition ranked second was found for 2 out of 11 cases for the MAS and 2 out of 10 cases for the QABF. The magnitude of difference between categories on the MAS/QABF did not appear to predict the amount of difference in responding in the corresponding functional analyses.