Factors Associated with Reading Comprehension of Secondary School Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-47
Author(s):  
Lin Wu ◽  
Martin Valcke ◽  
Hilde Van Keer

Student’s individual, family, and teacher factors play a significant role in children’s reading development. However, the mechanisms by which these critical factors jointly contribute to children’s reading comprehension achievement are poorly understood. The present research aimed at developing a multilevel comprehensive model which shows critical correlates, involving these factors, of reading comprehension of Chinese secondary school students. A random sample of 1,322 students, nested in 27 classes, was taken from five secondary schools. The student-level variables included student’s gender, autonomous reading motivation, controlled reading motivation, metacognitive awareness of reading strategies (MARS), and household income. Class-level variables included teacher’s qualification and experience. The results indicated student’s MARS and autonomous reading motivation were the two most powerful correlates of reading comprehension among the significant variables. Furthermore, teacher’s qualification and experience moderated the strength of the relationship between MARS and reading comprehension. Implications for future research, policy making, and improvement of reading instruction are discussed.

Author(s):  
بليغ حمدي إسماعيل عبد القادر

This current research aims to measure the effectiveness of using a proposed strategy for teaching literary texts based on the main assumptions of NLP in developing reading comprehension levels and improving reading self-efficacy for second-grade students, and to achieve this goal the researcher has prepared a list of reading comprehension levels and their behavioral indicators (Skills) required for second year secondary school students, as well as the appropriate reading self dimensions for secondary school students related to literary texts, and the researcher prepared a test that measures reading levels of comprehension, and a measure of the dimensions of the reading self, As well as preparing student worksheets and a teacher’s guide explaining how to use the proposed strategy. The results revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group and the scores of the control group in the test of post-comprehension reading and the dimensional reading self-measure in favor of the experimental group. The results also indicated the effectiveness of using the proposed strategy based on hypotheses of NLP in developing reading comprehension levels and improving The dimensions of the reading self of the experimental group students.


2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majella J. Albion ◽  
Gerard J. Fogarty

A comparison is made between the career decision making of secondary school students who are also elite athletes and a sample of non-athlete students. The 226 athletes (111 females, 115 males) in the study were on sporting scholarships with the Australian Institute of Sport or state/territory institutions. Measures used included the Career Decision Difficulties Questionnaire and the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale. The non-athlete data were obtained from 272 secondary school students (149 females, 123 males). Only three athletes indicated a singular focus on a career in professional sport. There were significant relationships between athletic identity and career decision difficulties, especially in relation to dysfunctional myths, and there was only one difference between the difficulties reported by athletes and non-athletes. Tentative conclusions are drawn about the factors that impact on career decision making among elite athletes and possible directions for future research.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibnath Deb ◽  
Esben Strodl ◽  
Jiandong Sun

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of academic stress and exam anxiety among private secondary school students in India as well as the associations with socio-economic and study-related factors. Design/methodology/approach – Participants were 400 adolescent students (52 percent male) from five private secondary schools in Kolkata who were studying in grades 10 and 12. Participants were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique and were assessed using a study-specific questionnaire. Findings – Findings revealed that 35 and 37 percent reported high or very high levels of academic stress and exam anxiety respectively. All students reported high levels of academic stress, but those who had lower grades reported higher levels of stress than those with higher grades. Students who engaged in extra-curricula activities were more likely to report exam anxiety than those who did not engage in extra-curricula activities. Practical implications – Private high school students in India report high levels of academic stress and exam anxiety. As such there is a need to develop effective interventions to help these students better manage their stress and anxiety. Originality/value – This is the first study the authors are aware of that explores the academic stress levels of private secondary school students in India. The study identifies factors that may be associated with the experience of high levels of stress that need to be explored further in future research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maghsoud Danesh ◽  
Nava Nourdad

The present study investigated the relationship between Creative Problem Solving (CPS) skill of Iranian secondary school students and their reading comprehension ability. The sample of participants included 70 second grade students randomly selected among secondary school students. The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking was used to measure CPS. Also, a valid and reliable teacher-made reading comprehension test was applied to asses reading comprehension ability of the participants. The results indicated that there was a positively significant correlation between reading comprehension ability and CPS skill. Among the sub-components of CPS, elaboration and originality revealed positively significant correlation with reading comprehension. Furthermore, the findings suggested a dire need of accommodating creativity and CPS techniques and activities in EFL materials, text book. Teaching creativity is highly recommended as a prerequisite for every kind of learning including foreign language learning.


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