Cognitive processes and reading comprehension of expository texts in Chilean secondary students

Abstract

Introduction. There is a variety of literature regarding reading development in its acquisi-tional stages, and also regarding reading disabilities that appear in early childhood. However, from the cognitive point of view, there has been less study of reading comprehension in sec-ondary students. The principal aim of this study was to analyze the development of fluid intelligence, attention, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, and spatial reasoning, and determine their impact on reading comprehension of expository texts in Chilean ninth-grade students. Method. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used, including predictive correlations. The sample included 99 students of both sexes, from three different grades, whose ages ranged from 14 to 16 years. We took standardized measures of fluid intelligence, attention, inductive rea-soning, deductive reasoning, spatial reasoning, and reading comprehension. We carried out descriptive analyses of the study variables, a correlational study, and multiple regression anal-ysis to determine the predictive variables. Results. The results show statistically significant relationships between inductive reasoning and reading comprehension of expository texts, as well as between attention, as an executive function, and reading comprehension of this type of text. Discussion and conclusions. Pedagogical and psychopedgagocial implications were drawn from these results, namely, the importance of enhancing inductive reasoning and attention ca-pacity in secondary school students in order to promote reading comprehension of expository texts.