Exploring Parental Perceptions and Roles in Adolescent Reading Motivation

This study aims to explore parental perceptions and roles in supporting adolescent reading motivation. Thirteen parents of middle school students participated in one-on-one in-depth interviews for this study to explore factors related to reading motivation. Findings revealed that parents perceive reading motivation as a willingness and desire that drives voluntary and dynamic reading behaviors. Factors influencing adolescents’ reading motivation were categorized into four main dimensions: social, personal, textual, and cultural. For each dimension, not only the unique reading contexts of the adolescents but also the distinct educational and environmental factors of South Korea were identified. Parents identified six primary roles that they play in fostering their children’s reading motivation: creating a reading environment, modeling reading behavior, participating in reading activities, shaping reading habits, granting autonomy in reading, and regulating and managing reading. These roles illustrate specific strategies parents can employ to actively enhance their children’s reading motivation. Situated within the Korean context, this study provides a detailed analysis of parental perceptions and roles in reading motivation, discussing implications for academic research, educational policy, and counseling practice, along with study limitations and suggestions for future research.