The Effectiveness of Story Reading in Increasing the Reading Motivation of Students with Dyslexia

The present study is conducted with the aim of analyzing the effectiveness of story reading training in increasing the reading motivation of dyslexic students. In terms of methodology, this research project is a pilot study and uses the pretest-posttest control-group design. The statistical population of the study is comprised of all elementary students with dyslexia in Rasht, Iran, in the academic year 2013-2014. 24 of these students were selected via convenience sampling and randomly placed into experimental and control groups. The data collection instruments of this study include the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) (Wechsler, 1969), the Official Reading and Dyslexia Test (ORDT) (Karami-noori and Moradi, 2009), and the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) (Wigfield and Guthrie, 1997). The experimental group students attended eight sessions of story reading training whereas the control group students did not receive any training. An analysis of covariance between pretest and posttest reading motivation scores showed that, after neutralizing the impact of pretest scores, story reading has a significant impact on the overall posttest scores of reading motivation. Besides, a test on the effects of intergroup contact showed that, after neutralizing the impact of pretest scores, story reading has a significant impact on the posttest scores of reading motivation subscales. According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that story reading strategies training can be used as an effective educational program in solving the problems of dyslexic students.