Using Cluster Analysis to Explore Differences in the Reader Self-Perceptions of Adolescent Struggling Readers

Adolescent struggling readers (ASRs) with and without disabilities are often reported uniformly in the literature as disengaged from reading and lacking the motivation required to read. The present study tested, at the beginning of the academic year, reader self-perception of sixth grade ASRs (n = 71) enrolled in remedial reading courses using the Reader Self-Perception Scale (RSPS). Application of a hierarchical cluster analysis using the 4 RSPS domains yielded 3 statistically significantly distinct clusters of ASRs based on variance across each domain of the RSPS.