“Book Club Rules and Tutoring Drools”: An Intervention Mixed Methods Study of the Effects of an After-school Book Club on Third-Grade Boys’ Reading Achievement, Attitudes, Preferences

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2017-11-03

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Abstract

This intervention mixed methods study used a quasi-experimental design to investigate the effects of an after-school book club on third-grade boys’ reading achievement, attitudes, and preferences. During the 2015-2016 school year, seven third-grade boys from a South Texas elementary school attended an after-school book club in their school library as an alternative to traditional after-school tutoring. The nine-week book club was designed to motivate reading by incorporating the five components of internal reading motivation: perceived control, interest, self-efficacy, involvement, and social collaboration. In addition to reading and discussion, the book club also included adult male guest readers and a service project where participants self-selected books to purchase and add to the school library collection.

Quantitative data were collected before and after the intervention in the form of reading assessments and motivation-to-read surveys. These data suggested that the book club intervention had a statistically significant positive impact on the participants’ overall reading achievement. Qualitative findings gathered through voice-recorded interviews and video-recorded book-club meetings revealed positive changes in the participants’ attitudes toward reading and reading preferences. Additional qualitative findings support prior research studies that suggest a social environment and collaboration can contribute positively to reading motivation.

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Keywords

Reading motivation, Reading achievement, Reading intervention, Self-selection, Book club, School library, Accelerated Reader, Boys and reading, Collaborative learning

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