Student engagement in reader's theater : underlying factors and effects on learning and group management

Abstract

This study examined the underlying factors of student engagement, as well as the effects of student engagement on expressive reading and teacher-experienced group management in the context of the reader’s theater program. The participants were 99 randomly selected dysfluent readers, who participated in an eight-week reader’s theater program. Students were divided into small-groups of five students (N = 20), half of whom had a clear goal for their training (i.e., preparing a play for their classmates) and half did not. Expressive reading was measured before and after the intervention. Student engagement and teacher-evaluated group management were measured after the intervention. The data was analyzed using multilevel regression analyses. The results indicated that student engagement had a positive effect on both the group management and the improvement in expressive reading during the intervention. Girls showed higher engagement than boys. In addition, reading-related enjoyment and the goal to perform enhanced student engagement.