Why We Read

What motivates us to read? And why do only a fraction of children leave their classrooms as avid readers while a vast majority graduate (or drop out) never experiencing the power of books and reading?

We think these questions can be answered using the work of Richard Ryan and Ed Deci, two psychologists who’ve worked for nearly 30 years to develop a concept of human behavior called self-determination theory (SDT). SDT explains how social factors support or thwart the ability for people to meet three innate psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

 We’ve applied SDT to literacy education and plotted the basic needs in three dimensions.

Competence

…the first basic need, means humans need to feel mastery over our life circumstances. We’re intrinsically motivated to be good at what we do. If we apply this to children’s literacy, competence translates to proficiency and a basic desire to be good at reading.

Autonomy

…is the need to make choices for ourselves, which drives behavior. Applied to literacy, autonomy is easily recognized in children who choose to read for fun. They have an intrinsically motivated routine of reading.

Relatedness

…is the human need to feel socially connected. Applied to literacy education, this need can best be met by providing an abundance of culturally relevant books in which children see themselves and therefore want to read. Children’s librarians, who’ve known about the importance of relatedness for a long time, put it this way in their mantra: “The right book at the right time for the right child.”

If, collectively, we provide a steady flow of relevant books into children’s homes—books that celebrate their language and culture—and support families to develop a joyful, daily ritual of sharing books and reading, we can profoundly increase the number of children who become proficient, avid readers and lifelong learners.

Not convinced? Check out the data.