The Journal of Educational Research

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Academic motivation in children with dyslexia

Ewa Łodygowska, Magdalena Chęć & Agnieszka Samochowiec

To cite this article: Ewa Łodygowska, Magdalena Chęć & Agnieszka Samochowiec (2017)
Academic motivation in children with dyslexia, The Journal of Educational Research, 110:5,
575-580, DOI: 10.1080/00220671.2016.1157783

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2016.1157783

Published online: 03 Sep 2016.

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THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
2017, VOL. 110, NO. 5, 575–580
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2016.1157783

Academic motivation in children with dyslexia

Ewa Łodygowskaa,b, Magdalena Che˛ ca,b, and Agnieszka Samochowiecb
a
Psychological and Pedagogical Counselling Centre no 4, Szczecin, Poland; bDepartment of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of
Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The authors’ purpose was to determine which form of therapeutic aid may influence academic approach Received 26 May 2015
and avoidance motivation in children with dyslexia. There were 165 children with dyslexia assessed with Revised 27 November 2015
the use of ”I and my school” questionnaire. The authors considered the children’s previous therapeutic Accepted 14 February 2016
experience and on its basis they were divided into three groups. Children receiving systematic therapeutic KEYWORDS
treatment display a significantly higher level of academic approach motivation as compared to those from Dyslexia; motivation;
the two other groups. Those children also manifest a lower level of academic avoidance motivation systematic therapy
compared to those receiving no form of specialist treatment. Girls, regardless of their therapeutic
experience, demonstrate a higher level of approach motivation; boys, on the other hand, display a higher
level of avoidance motivation. The study shows that the quality of provided therapeutic aid affects
emotional-motivational sphere of children with dyslexia. Systematic therapeutic aid increases academic
approach motivation and reduces avoidance motivation.

Developmental dyslexia is a disorder affecting 10–15% of chil- Mullins, 2002; Skaalvik, 2004), and situations that require read-
dren (Bogdanowicz, 2006), conditioned by genetic (Haarlar, ing and writing as stressful and threatening (Covington, 1992).
Spinath, Dale, & Plomin, 2005) and neurological factors The perception of self and the challenges associated with
(Habib, 2000). certain situations determines the motivation to act, or to avoid.
The International Classification of Diseases–Tenth Revision In accordance with the sociocognitive approach, motivated
(ICD-10; World Health Organization, 2010) considers develop- behaviors rely largely on external and internal reinforcements
mental dyslexia as a form of specific disorders of scholastic (Bandura, 2007). External reinforcements (i.e., reactions of the
skills (F81), involving specific reading (F81.0) and spelling environment) and consequences of particular actions (e.g.,
(F81.1) disorder. In the ICD-10 it is also highlighted that there achieved score) have an impact on the process of shaping cer-
appear certain interrelations between specific reading difficul- tain behaviors (constructive or not), as well as reinforce moti-
ties and impairment in development of speech and language, as vation to repeat certain behaviors in the future (Bandura,
well as pointed out that the nature of those difficulties is 2007). Besides external reinforcements, there appear also inter-
dynamic (i.e., spelling problems may persist even in case of nal ones (i.e., children’s beliefs concerning their competences;
improvement in reading ability). Moreover, it is stressed that Bandura, 2007). If in the course of experience a child gains a
during their school years children may develop emotional and conviction that he or she can cope with a problem, this knowl-
conduct disorders. edge provides satisfaction and starts working as a reward, thus
Children with dyslexia, due to the nature of their difficulties, motivating them to undertake similar actions in the future. The
begin to experience various failures from the very beginning of consequence of this is a willingness to take certain actions (e.g.,
their education. They are incapable of accurately fulfilling typical related to cognitive functioning), the driving force behind it
developmental tasks or those associated with academic require- being approach motivation (Ozer & Bandura, 1990).
ments, therefore they face setbacks early on in the educational The experience of failure, on the other hand, causes a stimu-
process (Gindrich, 2004). Because of accompanying dyslexia lan- lus originally considered to be neutral to start appearing as
guage difficulties, children with dyslexia are reluctant to speak in aversive, indicating the possibility of occurrence of unpleasant
front of the class and avoid participation in debates or public events (Bandura, 2007). The effect of this is activation of defen-
speaking (Dockrell, Peacey, & Lunt, 2002). Their academic per- sive behaviors, aimed at avoiding a specific threat. These behav-
formance is poorer, especially when it comes to subjects that iors are of durable nature, they do not disappear even when
involve reading and writing (Czerwi nska, 2004). there is no longer a potential risk—because an individual sup-
And since reading and writing constitute fundamental abili- ports them in the belief that by acting in a certain way they will
ties at school, then difficulties with them may undergo general- avoid trauma (Bandura, 2007).
ized assessment. As a consequence, a child begins to perceive Children with dyslexia experience numerous failures, which
him or herself as incapable and generally weak (Humphrey & determines negative emotions (Aleksander-Passe, 2008; Miller,

CONTACT Agnieszka Samochowiec samoaga@tlen.pl Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, 69 Krakowska
St., 71-017 Szczecin, Poland.
© 2017 Taylor & Francis
576 E. ºODYGOWSKA ET AL.

Hynd, & Miller, 2005). As a result of regularly experienced fail- in the following stages of the study. We also verified their expe-
ures they begin to identify school situations with unpleasant rience in the area of therapy. Our subjects (school children)
consequences, for which reason they feel anxiety related to their were all Caucasians of Polish stock, mainly from urban back-
functioning at school, leading to hindering of their activity and ground (i.e., towns or cities of more than 2,000 inhabitants).
reluctance to make self-reliant attempts to overcome difficulties They were divided into three equal groups (n D 55) with the
(Kim & Lorsbach, 2005). A leitmotiv of their functioning—in same sex ratio (30 boys, 25 girls). Group 1 comprised children
the face of potential threats—may become keeping away from and adolescents with dyslexia who had attended specialist ther-
undertaking activities induced by avoidance motivation (Ozer apy for at least three years before the study commenced. Group
& Bandura, 1990). 2 comprised participants with nonsystematic therapeutic expe-
Numerous studies (Kim & Lorsbach, 2005; Polychroni, Kou- rience. Qualified to this group were children who ceased to
koura, & Anagnostou, 2006; Ridscale, 2005; Skaalvik, 2004) attend therapy in the period at least two years before the study.
have confirmed that children experiencing regular failures at Moreover, their therapy was not conducted in a regular fashion,
school begin to doubt their ability to learn, which in turn with at least one six-month break. Group 3 comprised children
adversely affects their motivation: namely, it increases their and adolescents who had never experienced any form of spe-
avoidance motivation and activates defense strategies. These cialist therapeutic aid. The subjects in our study were recruited
strategies (devaluation of the situation and the activities in in primary and junior high schools so it is fair to say that all of
which they expect defeat; defensive attributions; self-handicap- our subjects were covered by the Polish general education
ping), aimed at the protection of self-esteem, provide excuses curriculum.
for failures, or diminish the importance of failures. However, To collect information concerning children’s experience
they do not solve real-world problems, and each of them with therapy, or lack thereof, we used a psychological interview
reduces the level of approach motivation, reinforcing, and per- and questionnaires for the teacher and therapist prepared by
petuating avoidance motivation. E. ºodygowska.
Studies (Alexander-Passe, 2008; Burden & Burdett, 2005; Groups were compared in terms of demographic variables.
Butkowsky & Willows, 1980; Humphrey & Mullins, 2002; Analyzed in the comparison was the intellectual level of the
Kulas, 1987; Stevenson & Romney, 1984; Zimmerman & participants (measured by means of the Wechsler Intelligence
Allebrand, 1965) have confirmed that repeated academic failure Scale for Children–Revised [WISC-R]) as well as the specificity
of children with dyslexia leads to disturbances within self- of their dyslexic disorders. Groups turned out to be
esteem and emotional-motivational mechanisms. These chil- homogeneous.
dren devaluate not only their intellectual prowess, but also The “I and my school” questionnaire by E. Skrzypek-Siwi nska
physical fitness, resistance to difficult situations, perseverance was used in the full-scale research. This paper-and-pencil tool allows
in their pursuit of goals (Kulas, 1987). They also have a to determine a general level of a child’s motivation to learn. The
tendency to manifest internal attribution when experiencing questionnaire is characterized by good reliability (the internal
failures in tasks requiring reading and writing, and do not feel consistency coefficient Cronbach’s alpha for the motivation to learn
like the originators experiencing success (Butkowsky & scale is 0.863) and satisfactory absolute stability (test–retest method:
Willows, 1980). They demonstrate learned helplessness more 0.75; Zwierzy nska & Matuszewski, 2002).
often (Humphrey & Mullins, 2002; Burden & Burdett, 2005), Theoretical foundations of the questionnaire—that learning
their sensitivity to criticism is higher (Stevenson & Romney, is a process influenced by motivation to achieve success, or to
1984), and they manifest a higher level of school-related anxiety avoid failure or threat—allowed to divide Motivation to learn
(Alexander-Passe, 2008; Zimmerman & Allebrand, 1965). scale into two subscales, defined as: academic approach motiva-
Although there have been reports attesting to the impact of tion (SMD) and academic avoidance motivation (SMU). “Aca-
failures on the motivational processes in children with dyslexia demic approach motivation” i.e., scholarly motivation stands
(Kim & Lorsbach, 2005; Polychroni et al., 2006; Skaalvik, for the motivation to study and learn, for the ability to under-
2004), there is little research that shows how therapeutic aid take any action geared towards achieving set objectives in the
may affect the development of children with dyslexia’s motiva- paradigm of learning.
tion to learn. Therefore the purpose of this research is to deter- Such an approach was based on item analysis of the motiva-
mine how specialist treatment (its systematicity or lack thereof) tion to learn scale, and then confirmatory factor analysis. To
influences academic motivation of children with dyslexia. estimate the relevance of the established model were used
chi-square and Lind and Steiger’s root mean square error of
approximation fit index analyses. Confirmatory analysis
Methods
showed that the two factors identified within the framework of
The study included 165 pupils in Grades 6–8 (primary and the motivation to learn scale meet the conditions of the factor
middle school children) with a diagnosed developmental dys- validity.
lexia. The research was conducted in several stages. Altogether, We posed two hypotheses:
it comprised more than 500 children who had come to psycho-
logical and pedagogical counseling centers and other diagnostic Hypothesis 1: That children with dyslexia participating in
institutions due to experienced problems with reading and the systematic therapy would show a higher level of aca-
writing. The purpose of this phase of the study was to either demic approach motivation than would children with
confirm or exclude the existence of developmental dyslexia. different therapeutic experience (nonsystematic ther-
Children diagnosed with dyslexia were qualified to participate apy, or lack thereof).
 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH 577

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for the variables of academic approach motivation (except for the last one) with the mean of all the successive
and academic avoidance motivation. groups. The obtained results showed that the group with sys-
SMD SMU tematic therapeutic experience is characterized by significantly
higher levels of approach motivation than children from the
Group n M SD SEM M SD SEM
other groups (p D .003), whereas there were no statistically
Group 1 Boys 30 16.00 4.526 0.826 12.50 5.244 0.957 significant differences (p D .595) regarding approach motiva-
Girls 25 16.44 5.417 1.083 11.08 5.958 1.192 tion between the children with nonsystematic therapeutic
Total 55 16.20 4.908 0.662 11.85 5.572 0.751
Group 2 Boys 30 11.43 5.969 1.090 14.73 5.988 1.093 experience and children without therapy.
Girls 25 15.20 5.583 1.117 13.00 6.252 1.250 Girls are characterized by a higher level of academic
Total 55 13.15 6.047 0.815 13.95 6.114 0.824 approach motivation and such tendency occurs regardless of
Group 3 Boys 30 11.63 5.586 1.020 16.17 6.587 1.203
Girls 25 16.08 4.396 0.879 12.92 6.013 1.203 their therapeutic experience (see Figure 1).
Total 55 13.65 5.505 0.743 14.69 6.483 0.874 The analysis helped confirm Hypothesis 1, that children
with dyslexia participating in systematic therapy would be
Note. SMD D academic approach motivation; SMU D academic avoidance motivation.
characterized by a higher level of academic approach motiva-
tion than would children with different therapeutic experience.
Hypothesis 2: That children with dyslexia with different In order to verify Hypothesis 2 we used a two-factor
therapeutic experiences would differ in the level of aca- ANOVA in the 3 £ 2 model (Type of therapeutic experience £
demic avoidance motivation. Gender); the results are presented in Table 3.
Statistical verification of the hypotheses was carried out by The analysis showed a small but statistically significant main
means of a two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA), planned effect for both factors. Still, as in the case of approach motiva-
comparisons (Helmert contrasts), post hoc tests, and Tukey’s tion, there was no statistically significant interaction effect of
HSD. The project was implemented in the northwest part of both these factors on avoidance motivation.
Poland. Post-hoc tests using Tukey’s HSD method applied to obtain
more precise information have shown that children without
therapeutic experience show a higher level of avoidance
Results motivation than children with regular therapeutic experiences
Table 1 presents descriptive statistics of individual variables, (p D .038) and a similar level of motivation to children with
taking into account the division into groups on the basis of the non-systematic therapeutic experiences (p D .793). The group
criterion of therapeutic experience and sex. with nonsystematic therapeutic experience, having achieved a
A two-factor 3 (Type of therapeutic experience) £ 2 (Sex) medium result, does not differ substantially from the other two
ANOVA in the model, where the dependent variable is SMD groups.
showed a statistically significant main effect of impact of thera- Boys—not taking into account their therapeutic experi-
peutic experience and impact of sex on the level of approach ence—show significantly higher levels of avoidance motivation
motivation (see Table 2). No statistically significant interaction than girls.
effect was found for both these factors, which means that they Therefore, there are grounds for a partial confirmation of
operate independently. the Hypothesis 2, assuming that children with dyslexia with
Quite small, though statistically significant main effect of different therapeutic experiences would differ in the level of
impact of therapeutic experience indicates that the compared academic avoidance motivation: A significant difference
groups differ in the level of academic approach motivation. relates to children with systematic therapeutic experience
Due to the directional nature of the hypotheses, in the fur- and children without therapy—the former of these groups
ther proceedings were used planned comparisons—Helmert is characterized by a significantly lower level of avoidance
contrasts, enabling to compare the mean of each of the groups motivation (see Figure 2).

Figure 1. Level of academic approach motivation in compared groups of boys and girls.
578 E. ºODYGOWSKA ET AL.

Table 2. Summary of the ANOVA for the estimation of the impact of therapeutic experiencing a sense of threat and positively assessing their
experience and gender on the level of academic approach motivation. own efficacy—they do not have reasons to avoid a particular
Approach motivation type of tasks associated with their functioning at school
(Polychroni et al., 2006; Pajares & Valiante, 1997). They may
F df p h2
therefore show greater activity in the actions oriented to solve
Type of therapeutic experience 4.649 2, 159 .011 .055 the problem, and—due to years of receiving specialized
Sex 12.166 1, 159 .001 .071 treatment—they can use more effective strategies for coping
Type of therapeutic experience £ Sex 2.241 2, 159 .110 .027
with situations that require reading and writing. As a result,

p < .05; p < .01. they manifest a higher level of approach motivation, and at the
same time they are forced to resort to using avoidance motiva-
tion far less frequently.
Surprising is the fact that the group of children with dyslexia
Discussion
and adolescents with nonsystematic therapeutic experience
The study has demonstrated that motivation at school, exer- reveal a similarly low level of approach motivation to children
cised by children with dyslexia, is largely related to the type of who have never been subject to any form of professional help.
their therapeutic experience. This means that any ad hoc, sporadic, nonsystematic therapeu-
In this research we analyzed the impact of therapeutic aid on tic actions are not sufficient to create children’s beliefs about
children with dyslexia. This means structured pedagogical ther- their self-efficacy, develop their perseverance (ºodygowska,
apy, carried out according to the principles of general didactics, 2011) and help them build stable enough strategies to deal with
methodology of teaching, special education–orthodidactics, problems in school so that they can turn to patterns of behavior
and revalidation. Pedagogical therapy differs from psychother- aimed at problem-solving. At the same time, it is worth noting
apy, its main goal being improvement of impaired functions that this group obtain medium results as regards their level of
and development of learning abilities. To not disrupt the avoidance motivation, not differentiating it from the groups of
homogeneity of the group, the results presented in this report children with and without therapy, which could mean that sys-
do not include the examination of children subjected only to tematic therapeutic experience, if only due to its characteristics,
pure psychotherapy focused purely on their emotional sphere. shapes a certain form of passivity in children with dyslexia
Therefore, the terms used in this paper such as systematic ther- (ºodygowska, 2011), not contributing to strengthening avoi-
apy or nonsystematic therapeutic experience relate to various dant behaviors, but not reinforcing activity or performance ori-
forms of pedagogical therapeutic aid. entation either.
In Poland there is no consistent therapeutic aid system for Children with dyslexia deprived of any therapeutic aid, on
children with dyslexia. Most primary and secondary schools the other hand, are characterized by a significantly higher
hold regular therapeutic classes for students with a diagnosed level of avoidance motivation than children experiencing sys-
developmental dyslexia; this applies in particular to urban tematic treatment. This imbalance can be justified by a
areas. Some diagnostic facilities also provide therapeutic assis- completely different nature of their experience. Children, in
tance to students with dyslexia. It should be noted, however, the course of therapy, develop not only their skills to cope
that in Poland the use of this type of aid is not compulsory in with difficulties in reading and writing, but are convinced
its nature, so there is a large group of children who do not par- that the problem of dyslexia is not a fatalistic category,
ticipate in any activities aimed at improving an impaired completely independent of them. In contrast, children who
function. are not offered any form of aid are sent a message that the
A systematic therapeutic aid leads to a lower level of school- problem of difficulties in reading and writing is incurable (as
related anxiety in children with dyslexia (ºodygowska & there is nothing that can be done about it), it is beyond their
Czepita, 2012), as well as contributes to the increase in their control and influence. The consequence of this may be per-
sense of efficacy (ºodygowska, 2011) and their own agency ception of school situations related to reading and writing
(Smith, 1989). A systematically implemented form of therapeu- on the one hand as nasty and disheartening, and on the
tic aid makes children “embrace” the problem of dyslexia— other—impossible to modify. Therefore these children resign
they learn positive strategies for coping with difficulties, they from implementing measures that are beyond their control,
gain corrective experience. As a consequence, they begin to while at the same time acting in accordance with the socio-
perceive school situations as less threatening and stressful. Not cognitive approach—they aim to avoid aversive stimuli that
may bring about negative consequences. As a result, they can
manifest avoidant behaviors, diminish the meaning of
Table 3. Summary of the ANOVA for the estimation of the impact of therapeutic school-related situations (demonstrating little commitment
experience and gender on the level of academic avoidance motivation. and avoiding involvement) and seek compensation in other
Avoidance motivation spheres of life. The study also revealed differences between
the sexes in terms of approach and avoidance motivation,
F df p h2
independent of the children’s therapeutic experience. This is
Type of therapeutic experience 3.103 2, 159 .048 .038 a question which undoubtedly requires more extensive
Sex 5.145 1, 159 .025 .031 research, with the recognition of aspects such as the social
Type of therapeutic experience £ Sex 0.360 2, 159 .699 .005
context of expectations concerning gender roles. The limita-

p < .05. tions of our study may be due to the fact that our subjects
 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH 579

Figure 2. Level of avoidance motivation in compared groups of boys and girls.

were healthy children, attending a general access school. The Bandura, A. (2007). Social learning theory. Warszawa, Poland: PWN.
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