From Reading in the Whole-day School: Do Full-day Facilities provide a Contribution to the Reading Support at the Beginning of Secondary School I?

The present study adds to earlier research on extra-curricular activities by investigating how participation in such activities affects reading comprehension and motivation. Analyses are based on data from fifth grade students attending German all-day schools. The influence of both participation in reading-related extra-curricular activities and level of perceived autonomy in these activities on reading motivation, reading self-concept and reading comprehension was analyzed. Results indicate that participation in reading-related extra-curricular activities has no significant effect on the dependent variables. However, perceived autonomy is positively related to reading motivation and reading self-concept. Moreover, reading comprehension is positively affected if students report to voluntary participation in reading-related extra-curricular activities.