Content area
Abstract
Some fourth, fifth and sixth grade students in a rural Pennsylvania school district are not achieving at a proficient level and have low self-efficacy in reading. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between teacher implemented mastery orientation goals, students’ judgment of their ability to perform the task of reading (self-efficacy for reading), and reading achievement. Social cognitive theory indicates that achievement in reading may be impacted by self-efficacy. Achievement goal theory reveals a connection between mastery orientation goals and high levels of confidence and self-efficacy. This study questioned if teacher facilitation of mastery orientation goals for reading had any influence on reading achievement or self-efficacy for reading, and if there was any relationship between the two. This one-group pretest-posttest pre-experimental mixed methods study used the concurrent transformative approach to data collection and analysis. The treatment was 9 weeks of teacher implementation of mastery orientation reading goals. Pre and post treatment data from the Reader Self-Perception Scale and the 4Sight Reading Test were analyzed using repeated measures t tests to calculate mean differences in self-efficacy, achievement, and relationships between self-efficacy and achievement. This study revealed that teacher implementation of mastery orientation goals had a statistically significant influence upon student self-efficacy for reading and reading achievement. Study results also suggested a positive correlation between student self-efficacy for reading and reading achievement. Social change resultant to this study may occur through a focus on mastery in lieu of social comparison, thereby bringing about a positive shift in both student self-efficacy for reading and reading achievement.
