Home literacy (reports of children's literacy activities at home and parents' storybook title recognition) and literacy interest (children's reports of feelings about literacy activities) were identified as 2 independent sources of literacy experience among 92 kindergarten prereaders. Together, they accounted for significant variance in oral vocabulary (21%) and on a letter-name and letter-sound measure of early written language (18%). Entering phonological awareness first in hierarchical regression eliminated home literacy's unique contribution to written language but not to vocabulary, indicating that home literacy is directly related to vocabulary but that phonological awareness mediates its relationship with written language. Literacy interest was unrelated to phonological awareness and accounted for unique variance in written language only. Discussion focused on print exposure versus explicit print-sound instruction in home literacy activities.

The double-deficit hypothesis (Wolf, 1997; Wolf & Bowers, 1999, this issue) contends that deficits in phonological awareness and deficits in visual naming speed represent two independent causal impediments to reading acquisition for children with developmental reading disabilities (RD). One hundred and sixty-six children with severe RD from 7 to 13 years of age were classified into three deficit subgroups according to a double-deficit framework. A total of 140 children with RD, 84% of the sample, were classified; 54% demonstrated a double deficit (DD), 22% a phonological deficit only (PHON), and 24% a visual-naming speed deficit only (VNS). Diagnostic test profiles highlighted the joint contributions of the two core deficits in depressing written language acquisition. The children in the DD group were more globally impaired than those in the other subgroups, and the VNS group children were the highest achieving and most selectively impaired readers. Following 35 hours of word identification training, sizable gains and significant generalization of training effects were achieved by all subgroups. A metacognitive phonics program resulted in greater generalized effects across the domain of real English words, and a phonological training program produced superior outcomes within the phonological processing domain. The greatest non-word reading gains were achieved by children with only phonological deficits.

The efficacy of a combination of phonological and strategy-based remedial approaches for reading disability (RD) was compared with that of each approach separately. Eighty-five children with severe RD were randomly assigned to 70 intervention hours in 1 of 5 sequences: PHAB/DI (Phonological Analysis and Blending/Direct Instruction) -*• WIST (Word Identification Strategy Training), WIST -* PHAB/DI, PHAB/DI X 2, WIST X 2, or CSS -»• MATH (Classroom Survival Skills -* Math, a control treatment). Performance was assessed before, 3 times during, and after intervention. Four orthogonal contrasts based on a linear trend analysis model were evaluated. There were generalized treatment effects on standardized measures of word identification, passage comprehension, and nonword reading. A combination of PHAB/DI and WIST proved superior to either program alone on nonword reading, letter-sound and keyword knowledge, and 3 word identification measures. Generalization of nonword decoding to real word identification was achieved with a combination of effective remedial components.

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Within psychological and educational research, self-report methodology dominates the study of student motivation. The present review argues that the scope of motivation research can be expanded by incorporating a wider range of methodologies and measurement tools. Several authors have suggested that current study of motivation is overly reliant on self-report measures, warranting a move toward alternative approaches. This review critiques self-report methodology as a basis for examining alternative conceptualizations of motivation (e.g., phenomenological, neuropsychological/physiological, and behavioral) and related measurement tools. Future directions in motivational methodology are addressed, including attempts at integration or combination of these approaches and a preliminary functional framework for the development of novel, multidimensional approaches to the study of motivation.Keywords Motivation . Measurement . Children . Review . Adolescents Motivation consists of the biological, physiological, social, and cognitive forces that direct behavior. Motivation has a long history within educational research (see reviews by Ball 1982;Weiner 1992;Young 1950). However, recent research has been driven by a predominant focus on the cognitive, intrapsychological aspects, discounting the importance of additional personal and contextual factors in the relationship between motivation and academic achievement. Past theories of motivation have focused on biological instincts, drives, and arousal. Current theories of achievement motivation, such as self-determination, cognitive evaluation, achievement goal, and expectancy-value theories, predominantly examine cognitive and, to a lesser extent, social processes that influence motivation for a particular activity.