Motivational and emotional determinants of effective learning to read in early childhood

Abstract

Individualization in the teaching and educational process encourages taking personalized actions. One of the most important educational activities is learning to read. This extra-curricular project was undertaken by kindergarten teachers from the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.

Experimental research conducted in several institutions was aimed not only at assessing the effectiveness of alternative methods of learning to read but mainly at identifying the factors that motivate a child to learn and determining the importance of the emotional states that accompany this process. The undertaken research problem was expressed by a question about the quality of psychological conditions in learning to read, motivation and emotions during the learning process. The observation method and a questionnaire addressed to parents were used to achieve the research goal.

The analysis of research results shows that the motivation of parents and children increases in proportion to the level of learning effectiveness and reaches 80%. Reading in kindergarten motivates to continue reading at home, as indicated by 78% of respondents. Parents are even demanding that educational materials be made available so that they can teach their children at home. They also indicate the possibility of strengthening the emotional bond with the child during joint exposure to the text.

Therefore, it is worth taking actions that motivate effort. It is postulated to make the course of tasks more attractive, which involves effort and tedious, multiple repetitions. Internal motivational mechanisms can be activated by, among others, creating: a friendly atmosphere. The culmination of undertaken activities should be an action motive, which is expressed in reading on the child's initiative.

To sum up, it can be said that motivating a child to learn in an atmosphere of friendship and joy promotes effectiveness in early learning to read.