Reading self-efficacy and reading fluency development among primary school children: Does specificity of self-efficacy matter?

Efficacy beliefs relate to effort and persistence devoted to learning. Therefore, efficacy beliefs might be especially important in achieving skills that require persistent practice, such as fluent reading. Although reading self-efficacy has been positively linked to reading comprehension, less is known about its relationship to reading fluency. The relationship between reading self-efficacy studied at three specificity levels and reading fluency development was examined among Finnish primary school students (N = 1327). The results showed that self-efficacy related positively to reading fluency and its development. The association was dependent on the specificity of the self-efficacy measure. Specific and intermediate self-efficacy were positively related to fluency, whereas general self-efficacy was not. Intermediate self-efficacy predicted fluency development. Findings indicate the need to identify and address low reading self-efficacy among children as young as Grade 2, as self-efficacy corresponds to the reading skills being learned.