Publications [#310944] of Steven R. Asher

Chapters in Books

1. Asher, SR; Wigfield, A "Topic interest and children's reading comprehension." Theoretical issues in reading comprehension. Ed. Spiro, RJ; Bruce, BC; Brewer, WF Erlbaum, 1980: 525-534. [doi]
   (last updated on 2025/06/16)

   Abstract:
   It is commonly believed that children’s willingness to read and their comprehension of what they read is affected by the interest level of the material they are given (e.g., Estes and Vaughan, 1973; Fader and McNeil, 1968). Accordingly, considerable research has been devoted to the assessment of children’s interests and to comparisons of children’s interests with the content of children’s texts. What is surprising is that these lines of inquiry have led to little research on whether children’s interest in material does, in fact, influence their comprehension. Blom, Waite, and Zimet (1970), who have done the most extensive content analysis of children’s reading primers, have commented that what is needed is research into how content actually affects children’s attitudes and reading performance.