Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is a large-scale comparison of the reading performance of Year 4 students in 50 countries, and Year 4 was chosen because it is the point in schooling where most students transition from 'learning to read' to 'reading to learn'. As the essential nature of their relationship with reading…

Students' freedom of choice is critical to promoting equity and literacy in the classroom. When students choose what they read, they are more likely to find books that represent their lives, interests, and personal desires and feel that they are autonomous and can self-regulate learning. Previous research suggests that offering choice during…

The current study examines the effects of the sociocultural context of primary school reading among Arabic- and English-speaking students in the UAE. Using a sample of 16,391 fourth graders (English: n = 10,507; Arabic: n = 5,884) from the 2016 Process in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), results revealed that while early language…

This study investigated the associations among reading strategy instruction, student motivational factors (i.e., attitudes toward reading, reading self-concept, and motivation to read), gender, and reading achievement. The analyses were conducted using the Hong Kong sample (students at Level 1, n = 3,875 and teachers at Level 2, n = 133) from the…

Comparative research has often emphasized the importance of external barriers (e.g. enrolment costs) to explain inequalities in lifelong learning participation. However, individuals, in particular the low educated, are often not only prevented from participation by external barriers, but also by negative psychological dispositions about learning.…

This report summarises Year 6 pupils' attainment in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) survey of 2016 in Northern Ireland and explores the context of that attainment. PIRLS is an international comparison study of reading at ages 9-10. PIRLS has a five-yearly cycle. Northern Ireland took part in PIRLS for the second time…

This summary accompanies the national report for Northern Ireland (Sizmur et al., 2017). It outlines the attainment of Year 6 pupils in Northern Ireland in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2016 survey and explores the context of that attainment. PIRLS is a study of reading at ages 9-10 and has a five-yearly cycle.…

Background: Numerous studies have investigated the relationships between various student, home and contextual factors and reading achievement. However, the relationship between such factors and reading attitudes has been investigated far less, despite the fact that theoretical frameworks of large-scale assessments and school effectiveness research…

Education is recognised across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a moral imperative and a strategic priority to secure future prosperity and human flourishing. Policymakers have set ambitious targets to join the ranks of the best performing education systems in the world in order to deliver economic success and secure a place on the world…

Research on effects of home computer use on children's development of cognitive abilities and skills has yielded conflicting results, with some studies showing positive effects, others no effects, and yet others negative effects. These studies have typically used non-experimental designs and one of the main reasons for the conflicting results is…

The Internet has become the primary source for obtaining information at work, at home, and for school. Because Internet reading increasingly is becoming one of the central ways students are acquiring information, in 2016, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) was extended to include ePIRLS--an innovative assessment of online…

When children have positive reading attitudes and behaviors, they generally also demonstrate strong reading skills. Strong reading skills enable children to access and learn content in a variety of subjects and reap a host of other academic and nonacademic benefits. Thus, it is of fundamental importance to ensure that children are motivated to…

According to expectancy-value theory, the gender stereotypes of significant others such as parents, peers, or teachers affect students' competence beliefs, values, and achievement-related behavior. Stereotypically, gender beliefs about reading favor girls. The aim of this study was to investigate whether teachers' gender stereotypes in relation to…

Background: This study explored the credibility of Swedish third-grade students' self-assessments of their reading achievement by relating those assessments to two different criteria--teachers' judgments and students' reading test scores. Student gender and socioeconomic status (SES) were introduced to determine to what extent, if any, these…

PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) was inaugurated in 2001 as a follow-up to International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's 1991 Reading Literacy Study. Conducted every five years, PIRLS assesses the reading achievement of young students in their fourth year of schooling--an important transition…