The Development and Description of an Inventory to Measure the Reading Preferences of Mexican Immigrant Students

Abstract

This article details the development of an inventory that identifies and measures reading preferences of sixth- through ninth-grade Mexican immigrant students. The inventory of reading preferences employs a unique methodology which utilizes open-ended, rating type questionnaires and annotated titles for 22 reading preference categories in combination with two statistical techniques (Q- quotient and reading preference factor) all developed by the researcher to accurately measure reading preferences. Reliability coefficients ranged from .90 to .96, far exceeding the typical range of .60 to .80 for similar inventories. Three panels of experts, one including children in validating the inventory, identified 36 annotated titles representing the dominant culture (Section A), and 37 annotated titles representing one of four predominant cultures in the Southwest: Mexican, African American, Native American, and Anglo American (Section B) from a pool of 120 annotated titles. This inventory was used to investigate seven primary and four secondary research questions. Summary results are provided. Other uses of the inventory are suggested.