Influences of Instruction on Amount of Reading: An Empirical Exploration of Social, Cognitive, and Instructional Indicators. Reading Research Report No. 3.

A study examined the association of reading instruction with the amount and breadth of students' reading activities, taking account of social, cognitive, and home factors in the educative process. A secondary analysis of a large national data base for students aged 9, 13, and 17 was conducted. Using answers from student questionnaires, conceptual criteria and factor analysis identified five constructs (such as study strategies) for 9-year-olds, eight constructs for 13-year-olds, and nine constructs for 17-year-olds. Path analyses were performed to describe the relationships of these constructs to amount of students' reading activity. The resulting path models for the three age groups had goodness of fit indices of 0.98 or higher. For 9-year-olds, amount of reading was associated with levels of social interaction surrounding reading, cognitive strategies for reading, and teacher-directed instruction. The path model of reading for 13- and 17-year-olds was generally similar to that for 9-year-olds. For 17-year-olds, the construct of reading activity subdivided into fiction, nonfiction, and news, and student-centered instruction entered as a predictive factor. Findings suggest that an instructional framework that supports the social and cognitive needs of students from a wide range of home backgrounds accounts for the amount and breadth of students' reading. (Five tables of data and four figures representing path models are included.) Contains 40 references. (RS)