Analysis of reading comprehension in underachieving high school students: exploring neuropsychological, metacognitive and motivational factors

Abstract

Introduction: the ability to comprehend written text is of utmost importance for educational progress in high school, given that most academic content is presented in this format, both in print and digital versions. Recent theoretical approaches and empirical studies in psychology and neuroscience have directed their interest towards explanatory models of reading comprehension that include motivational, neuropsychological and metacognitive elements. Objective: analyze, by means of structural equations, the multivariate effects of motivational, neuropsychological and metacognitive factors on reading comprehension in a group of adolescent high school students with reading difficulties. Methods: a quantitative, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 200 students between 11 and 18 years of age. Measures used: Academic Motivation and Attributional Styles Scale, Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory, Regression Digit Retention Subtest, d2 Attention Test, and Inferential Reading Comprehension Test. Results: only working memory showed a statistically significant direct effect on reading comprehension. Although academic motivation, selective attention, and metacognition did not have statistically significant effects on reading comprehension, there were statistically significant effects on reading comprehension.Conclusions: although only working memory had an effect on reading comprehension, a circuit in which other motivational, cognitive and metacognitive variables are associated could be revealed