Reading minds: Een onderzoek naar cognitieve, motivationele en instructiegerelateerde correlaten van begrijpend lezen in het lager onderwijs

This dissertation investigates which student and teacher characteristics may influence reading comprehension among grade 4 students ranging from the strategies students use when completing reading comprehension tasks, to their reading motivation and the instructional practices and beliefs about these instructional practices of their teachers. Various theoretical frameworks were explored, and a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was employed. The four empirical studies in this dissertation build on the RAND Reading Study Group model, which conceptualizes reading comprehension through four core components: the reader, the activity, the text, and the context. Each of these components is addressed in one or more of the studies. Study 1 examines the relationships between the reading instruction practices offered by teachers, their underlying beliefs about the importance and their self-efficacy perceptions of these instructional practices, and their students' reading comprehension achievement. Cross-sectional PIRLS data were used, consisting of test results from students and data from teacher questionnaires. Results of the multilevel path models highlight the importance of teachers' beliefs for the effective implementation of evidence-based instructional practices in reading comprehension. Study 2 employs qualitative research methods to explore how high- and low-achieving students use reading strategies in a task-oriented setting. Using the think-aloud method and thematic analysis, several differences in strategy use between high- and low-achieving students were identified. Further, patterns of strategy use were mapped and subsequently linked with students' reading achievement. Study 3 investigates how autonomy-supportive behavior exhibited by teachers relates to students' reading motivation and achievement. This quantitative analysis, based on PIRLS data, uses information from teacher and student questionnaires in multilevel multiple group structural equation models. The results highlight that not only the student's motivation is important, but also that the role of the teacher's autonomy-supportive behavior in this cannot be underestimated. Study 4 identifies distinct motivation profiles among students and examines how these profiles relate to student background characteristics, reading achievement, and teacher behavior. The results confirm that different motivation profiles are associated with differences in reading performance, and that autonomy-supportive teacher behavior is related to the type of motivation profile of a student. The findings from these four studies emphasize the complex nature of reading comprehension. Various factors at both the student and teacher level play distinct yet interconnected roles. The dissertation concludes with a reflection on the main findings and discusses their implications for future research and educational practice.