This study examines the associations between school-level organisational conditions, student-level motivational processes, and reading achievement in primary education using PIRLS 2021 data. Adopting a multilevel framework, it examines how instructional resource limitations, schools’ emphasis on academic success, and students’ engagement-related beliefs interact to explain fourth grade reading differences. Bayesian multilevel mediation modelling was employed to address the hierarchical structure of the data and multiple plausible values for reading achievement. At the student level, engagement in reading lessons is linked to confidence in reading, which functions as a proximal predictor of achievement. Gender and home socioeconomic status are included to control for background differences. At the school level, instructional resource shortages are negatively associated with schools’ emphasis on academic success, which mediates the relationship between resources and between-school differences in reading achievement, while controlling for the presence of a school library. Results show distinct yet interconnected pathways at both levels. Student engagement predicts higher reading confidence, which mediates its effect on achievement. Schools’ academic emphasis positively relates to achievement and mediates the impact of resource shortages. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of considering both organisational conditions and student-level motivational processes in understanding reading achievement and demonstrate the value of multilevel mediation models for analysing large-scale international assessment data.
Gülşah Yalçın (Mon,) studied this question.