The DOI matches its Crossref record; 88 of the 88 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relations Between Motivation and Reading Achievement for K–12 Students
Open accessAbstract
The purpose of this meta-analytic review was to investigate the relation between motivation and reading achievement among students in kindergarten through 12th grade. A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed published research resulted in 132 articles with 185 independent samples and 1,154 reported effect sizes (Pearson’s r). Results of our random-effects metaregression model indicate a significant, moderate relation between motivation and reading, r = .22, p < .001. Moderation analyses revealed that the motivation construct being measured influenced the relation between motivation and reading. There were no other significant moderating or interaction effects related to reading domain, sample type, or grade level. Evidence to support the bidirectional nature of the relation between motivation and reading was provided through longitudinal analyses, with findings suggesting that earlier reading is a stronger predictor of later motivation than motivation is of reading. Taken together, the findings from this meta-analysis provide a better understanding of how motivational processes relate to reading performance, which has important implications for developing effective instructional practices and fostering students’ active engagement in reading. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for reading development are discussed.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Alternatively, at-risk status might impede the effects of ER because struggling readers are generally less prone to engage in reading (Schiefele et al., 2012;Toste et al., 2020) and might thus benefit less from ER.”
From Learning a Language Through Reading: A Meta-analysis of Studies on the Effects of Extensive Reading on Second and Foreign Language Learning (2025) · cites this paper as Toste et al., 2020
Citations
Cites
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Muller, K. E., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Technometrics · doi:10.2307/1270020 · Cited by 99,603
Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test
Egger, M., Smith, G. D., Schneider, M., & Minder, C. (1997) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.315.7109.629 · Cited by 56,722
Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Cohen, P., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2014) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781410606266 · Cited by 20,870
An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion
Weiner, B. (1985) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.92.4.548 · Cited by 7,846 · cited 1×
“That is to say, academic performance is a predictor of psychosocial development and these factors reciprocally influence academic performance (e.g., Pekrun et al., 2002; Weiner, 1985).”
BackgroundSterne, J. A. C., Sutton, A. J., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Terrin, N., Jones, D. R., Lau, J., Carpenter, J., Rucker, G., Harbord, R. M., Schmid, C. H., et al. (2011) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.d4002 · Cited by 7,709
Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications
Pintrich, P. R., & Schunk, D. H. (1995) · Cited by 5,724
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children
National Research Council (1998) · National Academies Press eBooks · doi:10.17226/6023 · Cited by 5,541
Handbook of educational psychology
(1997) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.34-3084 · Cited by 4,850
Handbook of Competence and Motivation
Elliot, A. J., & Dweck, C. S. (2013) · Cited by 4,671
Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Titz, W., & Perry, R. P. (2002) · Educational Psychologist · doi:10.1207/s15326985ep3702_4 · Cited by 3,931
Pintrich, P. R. (2003) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.95.4.667 · Cited by 3,459
Relation of self-efficacy beliefs to academic outcomes: A meta-analytic investigation.
Multon, K. D., Brown, S. D., & Lent, R. W. (1991) · Journal of Counseling Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0167.38.1.30 · Cited by 2,309
Pintrich, P. R., Marx, R. W., & Boyle, R. A. (1993) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/00346543063002167 · Cited by 2,222
Robust variance estimation in meta‐regression with dependent effect size estimates
Hedges, L. V., Tipton, E., & Johnson, M. C. (2010) · Research Synthesis Methods · doi:10.1002/jrsm.5 · Cited by 2,086
A Brief Social-Belonging Intervention Improves Academic and Health Outcomes of Minority Students
Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1198364 · Cited by 1,992 · cited 1×
“Thus, these processes are selfreinforcing in nature (Walton & Cohen, 2011; Yeager & Walton, 2011).”
BackgroundVansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., & Deci, E. L. (2006) · Educational Psychologist · doi:10.1207/s15326985ep4101_4 · Cited by 1,964
Basics of meta‐analysis: I 2 is not an absolute measure of heterogeneity
Borenstein, M., Higgins, J. P. T., Hedges, L. V., & Rothstein, H. R. (2017) · Research Synthesis Methods · doi:10.1002/jrsm.1230 · Cited by 1,848 · cited 1×
“As per recent recommendations related to reporting of heterogeneity in meta-analyses (see Borenstein et al., 2017), tau-squared (τ2) was used to calculate between-study variance sampling variance and assign study weights in the random-effects model. τ2 is an absolute measure of heterogeneity…”
MethodChall, J. S. (1983) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 1,705
Self-Efficacy and Academic Motivation
NC DOCKS at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, & Schunk, D. H. (1991) · NC Digital Online Collection of Knowledge and Scholarship (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) · Cited by 1,426
Social-Psychological Interventions in Education: They’re Not Magic
Yeager, D. S., & Walton, G. M. (2011) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/0034654311405999 · Cited by 1,345
Relations of children's motivation for reading to the amount and breadth of their reading.
Wigfield, A., & Guthrie, J. T. (1997) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.89.3.420 · Cited by 1,314
Interpreting effect sizes of education interventions
Kraft, M. A. (2020) · Educational Researcher · doi:10.3102/0013189x20912798 · Cited by 1,281
New Developments in Goal Setting and Task Performance
Locke, E. A. (2013) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203082744 · Cited by 1,255
Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning
(2012) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203831076 · Cited by 1,185
Pearson, P. D. (2016) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315200651 · Cited by 1,151
Explaining the Differences Between the Dyslexic and the Garden-Variety Poor Reader
Stanovich, K. E. (1988) · Journal of Learning Disabilities · doi:10.1177/002221948802101003 · Cited by 1,106
Fredricks, J. A., & Eccles, J. S. (2002) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.4.519 · Cited by 1,050
Gottfried, A. E., Fleming, J. S., & Gottfried, A. W. (2001) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.3 · Cited by 1,042
A Motivated Exploration of Motivation Terminology
Murphy, P. K., & Alexander, P. A. (2000) · Contemporary Educational Psychology · doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1019 · Cited by 922
Interpretation of Educational Measurements
Freeman, F. S., & Kelley, T. L. (1928) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1414476 · Cited by 865
Psychological perspectives on the self
Hampson, S. E. (1985) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/0191-8869(85)90049-2 · Cited by 807
Francis, D. J., Shaywitz, S. E., Stuebing, K. K., Shaywitz, B. A., & Fletcher, J. M. (1996) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.88.1.3 · Cited by 802
The effects of contingent and noncontingent rewards and controls on intrinsic motivation
Deci, E. L. (1972) · Organizational Behavior and Human Performance · doi:10.1016/0030-5073(72)90047-5 · Cited by 758
Wang, J. H.-Y., & Guthrie, J. T. (2004) · Reading Research Quarterly · doi:10.1598/rrq.39.2.2 · Cited by 741
Academic intrinsic motivation in elementary and junior high school students.
Gottfried, A. E. (1985) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.77.6.631 · Cited by 725
Dimensions of Reading Motivation and Their Relation to Reading Behavior and Competence
Schiefele, U., Schaffner, E., Möller, J., & Wigfield, A. (2012) · Reading Research Quarterly · doi:10.1002/rrq.030 · Cited by 694
Motivation Interventions in Education: A Meta-Analytic Review
Lazowski, R. A., & Hulleman, C. S. (2016) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/0034654315617832 · Cited by 607
The importance of motivation as a predictor of school achievement
Steinmayr, R., & Spinath, B. (2008) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2008.05.004 · Cited by 592
Marsh, H. W., Pekrun, R., Parker, P. D., Murayama, K., Guo, J., Dicke, T., & Arens, A. K. (2019) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/edu0000281 · Cited by 535
Self‐Concepts, Domain Values, and Self‐Esteem: Relations and Changes at Early Adolescence
Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A., Flanagan, C. A., Miller, C. R., Reuman, D. A., & Yee, D. K. (1989) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1989.tb00484.x · Cited by 495
Is There a Bidirectional Relationship between Children's Reading Skills and Reading Motivation?
Morgan, P. L., & Fuchs, D. (2007) · Exceptional Children · doi:10.1177/001440290707300203 · Cited by 477
Bloom, H. S., Hill, C. J., Black, A. R., & Lipsey, M. W. (2008) · Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness · doi:10.1080/19345740802400072 · Cited by 477
Guthrie, J. T., McRae, A., & Klauda, S. L. (2007) · Educational Psychologist · doi:10.1080/00461520701621087 · Cited by 475
Psychological and EducaTional Perspectives on Learning Disabilities
Weller, C. (1986) · Journal of Learning Disabilities · doi:10.1177/002221948601901013 · Cited by 417
Development of Achievement Motivation
(2002) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-750053-9.x5000-1 · Cited by 394
Effects of motivational and cognitive variables on reading comprehension
Taboada, A., Tonks, S. M., Wigfield, A., & Guthrie, J. T. (2008) · Reading and Writing · doi:10.1007/s11145-008-9133-y · Cited by 392
The Complex World of Adolescent Literacy: Myths, Motivations, and Mysteries
BIRR MOJE, E., OVERBY, M., TYSVAER, N., & MORRIS, K. (2008) · Harvard Educational Review · doi:10.17763/haer.78.1.54468j6204x24157 · Cited by 374
Motivation Terminology in Reading Research: A Conceptual Review
Conradi, K., Jang, B. G., & McKenna, M. C. (2013) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-013-9245-z · Cited by 351
Chapman, J. W., Tunmer, W. E., & Prochnow, J. E. (2000) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.92.4.703 · Cited by 342
Nicholls, J. G. (1979) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.71.1.94 · Cited by 309
A longitudinal study of beginning reading achievement and reading self‐concept
Chapman, J. W., & Tunmer, W. E. (1997) · British Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.1997.tb01244.x · Cited by 305
On the effects of motivation on reading performance growth in secondary school
Retelsdorf, J., Köller, O., & Møller, J. (2010) · Learning and Instruction · doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2010.11.001 · Cited by 295
Muenks, K. M., Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2018) · Developmental Review · doi:10.1016/j.dr.2018.04.001 · Cited by 284
Logan, S., Medford, E., & Hughes, N. (2010) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2010.09.011 · Cited by 276
Reading strategy use and motivation among Chinese good and poor readers in Hong Kong
Lau, K., & Chan, D. W. (2003) · Journal of Research in Reading · doi:10.1111/1467-9817.00195 · Cited by 245
Petscher, Y. (2009) · Journal of Research in Reading · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9817.2009.01418.x · Cited by 230
Pfost, M., Hattie, J., Dörfler, T., & Artelt, C. (2014) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/0034654313509492 · Cited by 224
Gender differences in reading motivation: does sex or gender identity provide a better account?
McGeown, S. P., Goodwin, H., Henderson, N. A., & Wright, P. (2011) · Journal of Research in Reading · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9817.2010.01481.x · Cited by 216
Does Early Reading Failure Decrease Children's Reading Motivation?
Morgan, P. L., Fuchs, D., Compton, D. L., Cordray, D. S., & Fuchs, L. S. (2008) · Journal of Learning Disabilities · doi:10.1177/0022219408321112 · Cited by 208
Reading Instruction Grouping for Students with Reading Difficulties
Vaughn, S. R., Linan‐Thompson, S., Kouzekanani, K., Bryant, D. P., Dickson, S. V., & Blozis, S. A. (2003) · Remedial and Special Education · doi:10.1177/07419325030240050501 · Cited by 198
Schaffner, E., Schiefele, U., & Ulferts, H. (2013) · Reading Research Quarterly · doi:10.1002/rrq.52 · Cited by 176
Three methods for studying developmental change: A case of reading skills and self‐concept
Aunola, K., Leskinen, E., Onatsu‐Arvilommi, T., & Nurmi, J. (2002) · British Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1348/000709902320634447 · Cited by 169
The role of reading self-concept and home literacy practices in fourth grade reading comprehension
Katzir, T., Lesaux, N. K., & Kim, Y.-S. (2008) · Reading and Writing · doi:10.1007/s11145-007-9112-8 · Cited by 164
Notes on the theory and metatheory of intrinsic motivation
Deci, E. L. (1976) · Organizational Behavior and Human Performance · doi:10.1016/0030-5073(76)90033-7 · Cited by 163
Reciprocal Effects between Reading Achievement and Intrinsic and Extrinsic Reading Motivation
Hebbecker, K., Förster, N., & Souvignier, E. (2019) · Scientific Studies of Reading · doi:10.1080/10888438.2019.1598413 · Cited by 158
Learned helplessness in humans: A developmental analysis
Fincham, F. D., & Cain, K. M. (1986) · Developmental Review · doi:10.1016/0273-2297(86)90016-x · Cited by 139
Teacher Identities, Beliefs, and Goals Related to Emotions in the Classroom
Schutz, P. A., Francis, D. C., Hong, J. Y., & Osbon, J. N. (2007) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-012372545-5/50014-9 · Cited by 131
Writing and Reading in the Elementary Grades: Developmental Trends Among Low SES Children
Chall, J. S., & Jacobs, V. A. (1983) · Language Arts · doi:10.58680/la198326312 · Cited by 121
Adolescents’ motivation for reading: group differences and relation to standardized achievement
Wolters, C. A., Denton, C. A., York, M. J., & Francis, D. J. (2013) · Reading and Writing · doi:10.1007/s11145-013-9454-3 · Cited by 111
Conlon, E. G., Zimmer‐Gembeck, M. J., Creed, P. A., & Tucker, M. (2006) · Journal of Research in Reading · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9817.2006.00290.x · Cited by 102
Cartwright, K. B., Marshall, T. R., & Wray, E. (2015) · Reading Psychology · doi:10.1080/02702711.2014.991481 · Cited by 102
Morgan, P. L., Farkas, G., & Hibel, J. (2008) · Learning Disability Quarterly · doi:10.2307/25474651 · Cited by 100
Scarborough, H. S., & Parker, J. D. (2003) · Annals of Dyslexia · doi:10.1007/s11881-003-0004-6 · Cited by 98
VEVEA, J. L., COBURN, K., & SUTTON, A. (2019) · The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis · doi:10.7758/9781610448864.21 · Cited by 96
Connor, C. M., Day, S., Phillips, B. M., Sparapani, N., Ingebrand, S. W., McLean, L., Barrus, A., & Kaschak, M. P. (2016) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12570 · Cited by 80
Marsh, H. W., Roche, L. A., Pajares, F., & Miller, D. (1997) · Contemporary Educational Psychology · doi:10.1006/ceps.1997.0942 · Cited by 75
Alterable predictors of child well-being in the Chicago longitudinal study
Reynolds, A. J., & Ou, S. (2004) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2003.11.005 · Cited by 62
Folmer, A. S., Cole, D. A., Sigal, A. B., Benbow, L. D., Satterwhite, L. F., Swygert, K. E., & Ciesla, J. A. (2007) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2007.09.003 · Cited by 61
Jang, B. G., Conradi, K., McKenna, M. C., & Jones, J. S. (2015) · The Reading Teacher · doi:10.1002/trtr.1365 · Cited by 44
Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory
(2007) · Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics · doi:10.4135/9781412952644.n80 · Cited by 39
Motivating Struggling Readers in an Era of Mandated Instructional Practices
Margolis, H., & McCabe, P. P. (2006) · Reading Psychology · doi:10.1080/02702710600848023 · Cited by 32
Hedberg, E. C. (2011) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 31
Schatschneider, C. W., Wagner, R. K., Hart, S. A., & Tighe, E. L. (2016) · Scientific Studies of Reading · doi:10.1080/10888438.2015.1107072 · Cited by 26
Distinct and Overlapping Dimensions of Reading Motivation in Commonly Used Measures in Schools
Neugebauer, S. R., & Fujimoto, K. (2018) · Assessment for Effective Intervention · doi:10.1177/1534508418819793 · Cited by 24
Stable or situated understandings of adolescent reading engagement across readers and raters
Neugebauer, S. R. (2016) · The Journal of Educational Research · doi:10.1080/00220671.2014.968914 · Cited by 16
A PICTURE‐STORY TECHNIQUE TO UNCOVER COVERT ATTITUDES ASSOCIATED WITH READING FAILURE
Lipsky, J. A. (1983) · Reading Psychology · doi:10.1080/0270271830040205 · Cited by 7
The Correlation among Reading Attitude, Interpersonal Intellegence and Reading Comprehension
Widyasari, F. E. (2016) · Arab World English Journal · doi:10.24093/awej/vol7no2.19 · Cited by 6
Motivation and engagement in language and literacy development
Snow, C. E. (2017) · John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks · doi:10.1075/z.206.09sno · Cited by 3
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 7
- Kaniuka T. S., 2010, Journal of Instructional Psychology, 37, 184
- Lipsey M. W., 2001, Applied social research methods series: Vol. 49. Practical meta-analysis
- Matthew K. I., 1996, Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 5, 379
- Nicholls J. G., 1984, Advances in motivation and achievement: Vol. 3. The development of achievement motivation, 185
- 10.1080/00461520.1991.9653133 · DOI · Paper page
- Weiner B., 2012, Human motivation
- What Works Clearinghouse, 2014, WWC procedures and standards handbook
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Bureau, J. S., Howard, J. L., Chong, J. X. Y., & Guay, F. (2022) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/00346543211042426 · Cited by 414
“Recent meta-analyses have demonstrated that motivation types related differently to a wide range of outcomes across education and physical education fields of research (Howard et al., 2020; Howard et al., 2021; Toste et al., 2020; Vasconcellos et al., 2020).”
BackgroundVuong, Q., Nguyen, M., Le, T.-T., Ho, M.-T., Huyen, N. T. T., & Le, T.-T. (2021) · European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education · doi:10.3390/ejihpe11020034 · Cited by 103
COVID-19 Pandemic and Student Reading Achievement: Findings From a School Panel Study
Ludewig, U., Kleinkorres, R., Schaufelberger, R., Schlitter, T., Lorenz, R., König, C., Frey, A., & McElvany, N. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.876485 · Cited by 112
Bahari, A. (2022) · Interactive Learning Environments · doi:10.1080/10494820.2021.2021246 · Cited by 78
Effectiveness of Interventions that Foster Reading Motivation: a Meta-analysis
van der Sande, L., van Steensel, R., Fikrat‐Wevers, S., & Arends, L. R. (2023) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-023-09719-3 · Cited by 96
Metadata
- Authors
- Toste, J. R., Didion, L., Peng, P., Filderman, M. J., & McClelland, A. M.
- Affiliations
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- University of Iowa (US)
- Venue
- Review of Educational Research
- Published
- 2020-05-13
- Volume
- 90
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 420-456
- ISSN
- 0034-6543 (ISSN-L)
- 1935-1046
- OpenAlex
- W3024412491
- Cited by
- 269
- References
- 88
- Citations by year
- 2026: 45 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 7
- FWCI
- 49.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Review of Educational Research (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Education › Literacy and Educational Practices
- Keywords
- reading motivation, reading achievement, K-12 students, bidirectional relationship, reading development, motivational processes, reading engagement
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review