Reading and Writing Strategies Used by Typical and Struggling Readers: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Eirini Kakoura,Sotiria Tzivinikou,Dimitra Kagkara,Alexandra Fountoukidou

doi:10.4236/psych.2021.125043

Abstract

Reading and writing are essential skills to master for university students, as research has shown that effective use of reading and writing strategies can lead to academic success. There are contradictory studies regarding whether reading and writing strategies differ between typical and struggling higher education students. The present study aims to compare the quantities variations of learning strategies and the qualities variations to the strategy between typical and struggling students in Greek higher education. It is a cross-sectional survey. The sampling was convenient, consisted of 233 undergraduate Greek students; 46 were self-reported as struggling readers. The research instruments employed in the present study were two scales for reading and writing strategies usage, based on Oxford (1990) classification system. The results suggest that typical students tend to considerably use reading and writing strategies more often than struggling students. Although these students use fewer reading and writing strategies, they tend to use cognitive and metacognitive strategies.

Highlights

The term learning strategies have been employed in the literature several decades earlier to describe “plans, routines, or activities” used regularly and purposefully or “a collection of mental tactics employed by an individual in a particular learning situation” (Brown et al, 1983: p. 100)
The results suggest that typical students tend to considerably use reading and writing strategies more often than struggling students
As for the open-ended question, “Have you ever been taught learning strategies in primary and secondary education?” the results showed that typical students identified the learning strategy instruction during their primary and secondary school studies

Summary

Introduction

The term learning strategies have been employed in the literature several decades earlier to describe “plans, routines, or activities” used regularly and purposefully or “a collection of mental tactics employed by an individual in a particular learning situation” (Brown et al, 1983: p. 100). Other researchers consider learning strategies as the means of selecting, combining and rede-. On the other hand, Oxford (1990) uses Rigney’s (1978) definition of learning strategies as “operations employed by the learner to aid the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information” All researchers agree that learning strategies are used consciously to reinforce and assist the learning process and promote the acquisition, retention, and retrieval of knowledge

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion