Exploring the interplay of socioeconomic status, teachers’ expectations and a child’s reading engagement towards the level of reading comprehension in children between eight and twelve years old

Abstract

Background. Being able to write and read is considered to be an essential skill in our society. Research showed that it helps students to cope with difficulties in school and beyond. Despite this, reading comprehension levels seems to decline. It is assumed that the child’s engagement towards a reading task, as well as the socialemotional status (SES) of the parents and the teacher’s expectations play an important role in their overall academic performance. However, research dedicated to study the interplay between child and environmental factors, is still scarce. In this study, we explored whether the teachers’ expectations mediated the relationship between SES and reading comprehension and if this mediation was moderated by a child’s engagement towards a reading task. Methods. To test the hypothesis that a child’s engagement could function as a ‘buffer’ in the negative relationship between SES, teachers’ expectations and reading comprehension, a moderated mediation was performed (using PROCESS macro Model 8; Hayes, 2013). 86 children between eight and twelve years of age were included (........ = 9.56 SD = .895). SES (SD = .85), teachers’ expectations (SD = .83), and the child’s engagement (SD = .88) were measured using different questionnaires. The standardized Dutch school test (CITO LVS 3.0) was used to determine the level of reading comprehension. Results. Teachers’ expectations to reading comprehension showed a significant effect (B = 15.35, SE = 3.47, p = <.05). SES to teachers’ expectations (B = .22, SE = .39, p = .56) as well as SES to reading comprehension (B = -22.37, SE = 12.31, p = .07) were not significant. Conclusion. Teachers’ expectations did influence the child’s reading comprehension. Higher expectations resulted in better reading comprehension and vice versa. SES did not predict reading comprehension. Also, no relationship was found between SES and teachers’ expectations. Altogether, this study provided a well-founded beginning for further research. Moreover, our findings highlighted the importance of developing interventions that address the impact of expectations and how to cope with this. Consequently, this might have a positive effect on children’s and their reading performances.