Bodil S. Olaussen

Leisure time reading and orthographic processes in word recognition among Norwegian third- and fourth-grade students

Third- and fourth-grade Norwegian children completed a battery of tasks that measured indicators of orthographic and phonological processing skill, leisure time reading, home literacy environment, and nonverbal intelligence. Using latent variable structural equation modeling, it was found that home literacy environment influenced leisure time reading, and that leisure time reading contributed to orthographic processing skill beyond the prediction provided by phonological processing skill. Home literacy environment influenced orthographic processing skill indirectly by its influence on leisure time reading. In addition, some children with poor phonological skill and good orthographic skill were found to score high on a leisure time reading measure. Even though Norwegian has much more regular orthography than English, these results are consistent with previous findings in the United States linking variance in orthographic processing skill to differences in leisure time reading. Thus, this study showed the robustness of orthographic skill independent of phonological processing even within the context of an orthographically regular language.

The learning and study strategies of Norwegian first-year college students

Abstract In this study, we examined the learning and study strategies of 173 Norwegian first-year college students and compared the resulting profiles to those of the American students who established the norms for the selected strategy measure (i.e., Learning and Study Strategies Inventory [LASSI]). In addition, we compared the strategy profiles of students with different levels of perceived ability, gender, and age. It was found that the profiles of the Norwegian students were remarkably similar to the profiles of the American norming sample, with only the Motivation subscale of the LASSI showing a large difference between the two samples. Moreover, students with high perceived ability reported using more strategies than students with low perceived ability, and female students, on the whole, reported using more strategies than males. Finally, the age differences in reported strategy use were rather small among the Norwegian students. The results of this study are discussed in both cross-cultural and practical perspectives.

Motivation in college: Understanding Norwegian college students' performance on the LASSI Motivation Subscale and their beliefs about academic motivation

Abstract Norwegian college students have been found to score remarkably low on the Motivation subscale of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) in relation to American norms. In this study, we first administered the LASSI Motivation subscale to a sample of 15 Norwegian college students and then interviewed the students about their responses to the scale items and their beliefs about academic motivation. Only the students having the highest scores on the Motivation scale seemed to wholeheartedly value the activities described by the scale items and conceive of motivation in the self-discipline and duty-oriented way reflected by the scale. In contrast, the students having the lowest scores did not seem to value the activities described by the scale items and clearly defined academic motivation in terms of interest, enjoyment, and excitement. It is suggested that one important reason why so many Norwegian students score low on the LASSI Motivation scale might be that they have a strong sense of autonomy and are intrinsically rather than extrinsically motivated. In conclusion, possible contextual differences between American students and our Norwegian participants are also discussed.