Relations among Dimensions of Reading Attitudes and Stages of Internalization of Reading Attitudes Held by Prospective Teachers

Abstract

To estimate how two reading attitude scales are related, 198 prospective teachers were administered the Mikulecky Behavioral Reading Attitude Measure and the Teale-Lewis Reading Attitude Scales. The former allowed classification of subjects according to Krathwohl's five stages of internalization of attitudes, while the Teale-Lewis scale measured the value subjects placed upon individual development, utilitarian and enjoyment dimensions of reading. Canonical analysis showed that the two instruments are related, with one significant function accounting for 64% of the variance. All subscales contributed significantly. The two-way multivariate analysis of variance with three dependent measures (Teale-Lewis dimensions) and two independent measures (sex and the five Mikulecky stages) gave one significant main effect—the five Mikulecky stages Readers classified at higher stages of internalization of attitudes tended 10 place greater value on all three Teale-Lewis dimensions than did readers at lower stages. Although 22% of the subjects were classified at one of the two highest stages (organization and characterization), 69% were classified at one of the two lowest stages (attending and responding).

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