Keywords
reading comprehension performance
reading self-efficacy
time constraints
How to Cite
Abstract
Reading self-efficacy was believed to be a crucial factor for students’ reading comprehension ability and achievement. Unfortunately, most research was performed only in a normal test situation with no emphasis on time constraints. This study investigates students’ reading comprehension achievement level, reading self-efficacy level, and the relationship between the two aspects within different time constraints. The data were gathered from 119 ’first-year students at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin through reading comprehension tests and the adapted version of the Self-Efficacy for Reading (SER) questionnaire in three reading comprehension tests with different time constraint namely standard, mild and severe time constraint. The data were analysed and compared through frequency distribution and correlation. Results indicated an increase in students’ reading comprehension achievements and a stagnant moderate level of reading self-efficacy. A weak but significant, positive correlation was found in the test conducted under extreme time constraint. Extreme time constraint was concluded to be the most impactful not only towards the students’ reading comprehension achievement but also towards the relationship between their reading comprehension achievement and reading self-efficacy.
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