International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education (Jun 2016)
An exploratory study of the relationships between reading comprehension competence, reading attitude and the vividness of mental imagery among Turkish fourth-grade students
Abstract
This study aimed to establish the possible relationships between reading comprehension competence, reading attitude and the vividness of mental imagery among Turkish fourth-grade students. Participants were fourth grade students, selected using convenience sampling from two different public schools (n=103) in Bartin, Turkey. The research was designed as a correlational study to describe the degree to which two or more quantitative variables are related; this was achieved by using a correlation coefficient. The data gathering tools used in this study were (1): the Reading Comprehension Test (RCT), which was developed by the researcher and which includes both factual and inferential questions; (2) the Vividness of Imagery Questionnaire (VIQ), developed by Sheveland (1992); (3) the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS), developed by McKenna and Kear (1990). Multiple linear regressions were used for data analysis. The analysis revealed that reading attitude and vividness of mental imagery were significant predictors for students’ reading comprehension competencies. In addition, the results indicated that approximately 14% of the variance in reading comprehension competence could be explained by reading attitude and vividness of mental imagery [R=.369, R2=.136, F(2-96)=7.578, p<.01].
