Long-Term Stability of Children's Attitudes Toward Reading

Abstract The long-term stability of the construct of children's attitudes toward reading was examined. One hundred eighty-nine students in Grades 1-4 completed two administrations of the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) following a 3-year interval. Initially, reading attitudes were relatively positive and comparable to the standardization sample for both the recreational and academic subscales of the ERAS. Following the 3 years, however, reading attitudes dropped significantly for both recreational and academic scores. Nonsignificant grade differences were observed, but girls consistently expressed more positive attitudes toward recreational reading than did boys. Similarly, girls also demonstrated greater stability in reading attitudes than boys, based on higher correlations between first and second administrations of the ERAS. Implications for the classroom and directions for future research are provided.