Abstract
The purpose of this study was to measure the motivation for academic and recreational reading of 6th grade students in a middle school located in southwest Florida using the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS). In this mixed methods study, motivation for both types of reading were measured, individual demographics of the population, such as gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, were compiled, and the students' performance data on the reading Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) was collected. The quantitative research questions were analyzed using descriptives and a factorial ANOVA, which aimed to discover what relationships existed between academic and recreational reading motivation, as measured by the ERAS, and diverse 6th grade student's gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and performance on the reading FCAT. The findings suggest that there was a statistically significant difference in gender and passing performance on the reading FCAT with recreational reading motivation and a statistically significant difference in socioeconomic status with academic reading motivation. For the qualitative section of this study, five individual interviews were conducted and aimed to answer in what ways familial and school literacy experiences influenced academic and recreational reading motivation. These findings supported the quantitative findings regarding socioeconomic status and academic reading motivation and a common theme emerged regarding the importance of early literacy experiences.