ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between parents' reading motivation and leisure reading frequency and their children's reading motivation. Secondary data analysis was used to examine a sample of almost 330,000 Chilean adolescents. The results of multilevel regression models revealed that parents' reading motivation and frequency were significantly and positively associated with adolescents' reading motivation, even after controlling for their classmates' and their own previous reading achievement. Furthermore, the negative and significant association found between students' reading motivation and their socioeconomic status was smaller in effect size than that of parents' reading motivation and frequency combined. The implications and limitations of these findings are also discussed.

AbstractReading is linked to numerous positive outcomes, including academic achievement, reduced stress, and enhanced life expectancy. However, a significant portion of Chilean adolescents engage in limited reading. Notably, male students tend to exhibit lower levels of reading motivation compared to their female counterparts, with declining reading self‐concept over time. To address this challenge, this study explores the impact of a 9‐month‐long pilot reading program aimed at increasing students' reading motivation and volume in an all‐boys rural school in southern Chile (N = 120), guided by Self‐Determination Theory and adapted from Atwell's reading workshop. The program included four pillars: access to high‐interest print books, 90 min per week of in‐class independent choice, and peer interactions around reading. t‐Tests showed a significant increase in students' reading volume but not in their reading motivation. Nevertheless, multiple regression analyses revealed that, when controlling for students' pre‐program reading motivation, achievement, and volume, post‐program reading motivation and time allocated for independent reading were significantly associated with the number of pages read during the program. Implications for practice and future research avenues are discussed.

In this study, we analyze how 9–10-year-old pupils work with equations, a central aspect of algebraic thinking in early grades and a cornerstone for more formal learning of algebra. Specifically, we seek: (a) to describe the main characteristics of the tasks that support algebraic thinking through a translation process from arithmetic word problems to algebraic language and vice versa, and (b) to identify how pupils refer to indeterminate quantities in these contexts and what meaning they give to them. The analysis focuses on the semantic congruence of the expressions proposed by them and on the dialogue they held during the translation process. We analyzed the oral discussion in the pools and the written responses to the problem that pupils posed. The results show that arithmetic word problems allow the indeterminate to become an object of thought for pupils, who represent it in multiple ways and refer to it when proposing equations that represent the structure of each problem. Another finding highlights that reflection on the interpretation of the equations supports the identification of two meanings associated with indeterminate quantities, namely, unknown and variable.

Diversos reportes de investigación han mostrado cómo niños de las primeras edades construyen ideas matemáticas generales, aspecto central del pensamiento algebraico. Sin embargo, los estudios que abordan cómo estudiantes de estas edades justifican esas ideas generales son escasos y esto constituye la originalidad y contribución de esta investigación. Considerando el rol predominante de las representaciones manipulativas en las experiencias matemáticas de niños de las primeras edades, la pregunta de investigación que busco responder es: ¿cómo las representaciones manipulativas apoyan la construcción y justificación de ideas matemáticas generales al resolver problemas que tienen un carácter algebraico? Para aproximarme a dicha pregunta, realicé una entrevista individual semiestructurada a un niño de 5 años, en la cual le presenté dos problemas diferentes que buscaban que el participante atendiera a la relación entre una determinada cantidad de perros y la cantidad de colas/ojos respectiva. Los resultados muestran que a pesar de no emplear y/o referirse al material manipulativo para construir reglas generales y/o justificar, el participante encontró relaciones generales entre las variables involucradas en los problemas. Asimismo, sus justificaciones se basan en las reglas generales que él construyó. Finalmente, el participante extiende dichas reglas generales hasta el punto de interactuar con cantidades indeterminadas.