Reitzammer (1991) has noted that children who are most likely to become school dropouts are poorer readers than their peers who remain in school. She suggests that this problem can be corrected by selecting not only instructional strategies that improve reading skills but also strategies that build students' self-esteem. In other words, Reitzammer is suggesting that there is a relationship between self-esteem and reading. The review of literature presented here examines the current empirical research investigating for this relationship.
If there is a relationship between reading achievement and self-esteem, then it seems reasonable to suggest that strategies which improve self-esteem should also improve reading achievement. This suggestion was investigated in a study conducted by Coakley (1993) which was designed to improve the general academic achievement and reading achievement of 35 third- and fourth-grade underachievers through strategies that were developed to improve their self-esteem.
Objectives of the investigated program included focusing on self-concept and learning skills reinforcement; the major goal was to increase both academic performance and student motivation. Program sessions focused on self-esteem enhancement strategies, study skills, and time-management techniques. Small group sessions focused on reinforcing students' knowledge of math and reading concepts. Teachers and school staff were instructed to build mentoring relationships with students.
Evaluative data indicated that as a result of the program, students' increased their levels of self-esteem and their reading levels. In addition, they showed improvements in both math levels and overall grade point averages. This finding that improvement in self-esteem was associated with improvement in reading achievement supports the notion of a relationship between the two variables.
Hershfield (1991) also found an association between reading achiev...