Enlarging English reading amount in Hong Kong primary schools: do social support and goal orientation matter?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this research, the relationships among social support, including parents’, teachers’, and peers’ support, goal orientation, and reading amount in English were examined directly and indirectly in a sample of Hong Kong senior primary school students (N\u2009=\u2009570) using a questionnaire survey. It was assumed that parents’, teachers’, and peers’ support influenced the reading amount via reading goal orientation. Gender and age were taken into consideration when calculating the mediating effect. Moreover, the cross-group invariance of gender was explored. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the relationships among the examined variables. The results of the structural equation modelling and mediation analysis showed that parents’ and teachers’ support predicted the reading amount positively and significantly, and that the effect of parents’ and teachers’ support on the reading amount was mediated by goal orientation, and there was no gender difference in terms of the mediating role of goal orientation. The implications include discussions on how parents and teachers can support reading and on how to enhance goal orientation and the reading amount.