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Article |
Dificultades en la comprensión lectora en los primeros
años de la Educación General Básica (2.º, 3.º y 4.º) en el área de Lengua y
Literatura
Shirley Maricela Luna Bonno[*]
Betty Quinde Alejandro*
María Adelaida Peralta Carvajal*
María Teresa Mite Albán*
Abstract
The ability to comprehend what one reads is a
cognitive process that must be developed during the first three grades of
General Basic Education, as it directly impacts independent learning and
subsequent academic achievement. However, various studies indicate that a
significant proportion of students in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades of
elementary school continue to struggle with understanding different written
texts and with reading comprehension. This article identifies the main barriers
to reading comprehension in the early grades of Basic General Education in the
subject of Language and Literature, based on an up-to-date the n review and an
empirical study using a mixed-methods approach. Methodologically, the study
involved an in-depth review of recent scientific literature and a
descriptive-correlational study of elementary school students. The results
reveal difficulties associated with the literal and inferential levels of
reading comprehension, linked to linguistic, cognitive, and methodological
deficits. The article concludes by stating that the use of active,
collaborative, and multisensory teaching strategies is the ideal approach for
improving reading comprehension at this educational stage. This work is part of
the research project “Development of Research Competencies in Teachers at
Educational Institutions” (DECOMINDO) conducted by the Educational Innovation
Group (GIE-IDI) at the Salesian Polytechnic University.
Keywords: reading comprehension, elementary education, learning
difficulties, language and literature, early reading.
Resumen
La destreza de comprender lo
que se lee es un proceso cognitivo que se debe trabajar en los tres primeros
grados de la Educación General Básica, ya que impacta directamente en el
aprendizaje autónomo y en la posterior dedicación académica. Sin embargo, diversas
investigaciones indican que una fracción significativa de los escolares de 2º,
3º y 4º de primaria continúan presentando problemas en la comprensión de
diferentes textos escritos y en la comprensión lectora. Este artículo
identifica las principales barreras en la comprensión lectora en los primeros
grados de la Educación General Básica en la materia de Lengua y Literatura
desde una revisión teórica actualizada y un estudio empírico con un enfoque
mixto. Desde la metodología, aplicó una revisión profunda de la literatura
científica reciente y un estudio descriptivo-correlacional de los estudiantes
de educación básica. Los resultados muestran dificultades asociadas a los
niveles literal e inferencial de la comprensión lectora, conectados a déficits
en lo lingüístico, lo cognitivo y lo metodológico. El artículo concluye
afirmando que la utilización de estrategias didácticas activas, colaborativas y
multisensoriales resulta ser el recurso perfecto para mejorar la comprensión
lectora en esta etapa educativa. Este trabajo pertenece al proyecto de
investigación Desarrollo de competencias investigativas en docentes de
instituciones educativas (DECOMINDO) del grupo de innovación Educativa GIE-IDI
de la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana.
Palabras clave: comprensión lectora, educación básica, dificultades de aprendizaje,
Lengua y Literatura, lectura inicial.
Introduction
Comprehensive reading is much more than identifying
words on a page; it is the gateway to knowledge and critical thinking
What concerns many teachers and researchers is that
this difficulty persists even among children who can already read mechanically.
Granda et al. (2023) explain this clearly: understanding a text involves much
more than simply repeating aloud what is written, and when students fail to
move beyond that level, their gaps become evident, especially when inferring
meaning, connecting ideas, or forming their own opinions (Becerra et al.,
2025).
Nieto (2025) notes that 75% of elementary school
students experience these limitations, with poor academic performance being the
most common consequence.
Ramírez et al. (2025) assert that progress in
reading comprehension involves much more than simply teaching students to break
down words: it is necessary to cultivate critical and inferential comprehension
skills that enable students to successfully tackle the challenges of learning.
However, several recent studies show that a
significant proportion of elementary school students exhibit limitations in the
literal, inferential, and critical levels of reading comprehension, even after
they have developed basic decoding skills (Ramírez et al., 2025; Flores et al.,
2025). These difficulties tend to be exacerbated in contexts where language
disorders are present, cognitive stimulation is limited, or traditional
teaching practices focus primarily on rote memorization (Yan Lam et al., 2024).
Given this situation, it is important to conduct a
more in-depth study of the difficulties associated with reading comprehension
during the early years of General Basic Education, taking into account both the
cognitive processes involved and the teaching strategies implemented in the
classroom. In this regard, this study aims to contribute theoretical
foundations and empirical evidence that promote a broader understanding of the
phenomenon and guide the development of pedagogical proposals tailored to the educational
context.
Reading Comprehension as a Cognitive
and Educational Process
Understanding a text is not limited to recognizing
words on a page; it is an active process that involves creating meaning through
the reader’s interaction with the text and its sociocultural context.
Chacaguasay and Larreal (2023) define reading
comprehension as the strategy that allows for the integration of thinking
strategies (cognitive and metacognitive) with a written text in order to grasp
it in a reflective and critical manner. Thus, the process involves linguistic
skills, working memory, attention, inference, and metacognition—elements that
are integrated simultaneously so that the reader can actively construct meaning
(Cieza, 2023).
In turn, according to Gaibor et al. (2023), reading
serves as the foundation of critical thinking, such that those who adequately
comprehend a text are able to analyze, reflect, and form their own judgments
about what they read.
Reading comprehension is essential during the early
years of General Basic Education, as it forms the foundation for learning
across all curricular areas; Huamancha et al. (2025) provide evidence
highlighting that reading comprehension, which begins to develop in the early
years, creates the conditions that foster the acquisition of scientific,
mathematical, and social knowledge, as it enables students to interpret,
analyze, and relate information in meaningful ways.
Within this framework, reading comprehension should
be viewed as a skill that evolves gradually. Between second, third, and fourth
grade, students progress from a comprehension focused primarily on the literal
meaning to more complex levels, such as inferential and critical comprehension.
This progress does not occur spontaneously but requires ongoing pedagogical
guidance and the implementation of relevant teaching strategies (Ramírez et
al., 2025).
Levels of Reading Comprehension in
Elementary Education
Effective reading is not a single skill but rather a
chain of knowledge that can be represented by hierarchical levels ranging from
the most basic to the most complex, beginning with the literal level, where
explicit information in the text is accessed; a second inferential level, which
involves making deductions and using prior knowledge during the reading
process; and a critical level, which guides the reader toward autonomy,
enabling them to form opinions and make connections to their reality and context
(Granda et al., 2023; Salazar et al., 2024).
Several studies highlight that during the early
years of General Basic Education, the inferential level can pose challenges for
students. Flores et al. (2025) note that while many children are capable of
decoding texts and answering literal questions, they struggle to establish
causal relationships, infer perspectives, and interpret the text’s overall
meaning.Quezada et al. (2024) confirm that the language and reading skills of
second- and third-grade students directly influence their reading comprehension
ability, with inferential skills posing the greatest difficulty. Morales et al.
(2024) also argue that this difficulty persists among fourth-grade students
with basic and intermediate reading levels across all three levels of reading
comprehension.
These difficulties increase when metacognitive
strategies—such as self-regulation of reading, asking questions, and checking
for comprehension—are not employed. These are skills that, when developed early
on, promote the interpretation, connection, and analysis of texts, thereby
facilitating meaningful learning across various disciplines (Huamancha et al.,
2025; Ramírez et al., 2025).
Difficulties in Reading Comprehension
in the Early Years of Schooling
It cannot be said that difficulty in understanding a
text has only one cause; the origins of such difficulty are multiple and
complex. Granda et al. (2023) state that there are various factors (linguistic,
cognitive, emotional, and pedagogical) that contribute to poor reading
performance, including a limited vocabulary, low reading fluency, low
motivation, and a lack of comprehension strategies; Gonzaga (2022) confirms
that second-grade elementary school students exhibit deficient levels of
reading comprehension, which led us to decide to implement a model of
strategies that could address these difficulties, as this is necessary from the
earliest years of schooling.
This is not merely a cognitive problem. Yan Lam et
al. (2024) highlight that students with language development disorders face
additional difficulties in reading comprehension, especially when the text
requires complex semantic and syntactic integration. Benítez (2024) adds that
personal and pedagogical factors—such as lack of interest, low motivation, and
poor-quality instruction—exacerbate these difficulties in the early years of
schooling, confirming that the problem extends far beyond the classroom.
On the other hand, Vargas et al. (2024) demonstrate
that reading difficulties also manifest in digital contexts, where fragmented
reading and information overload affect deep comprehension, both in students
with special educational needs and in those without specific diagnoses.
The Influence of Teaching Practices on Reading
Comprehension
Teaching practices play a decisive role in the
development of reading comprehension. Cieza (2023) argues that traditional
methodologies focused on mechanical reading and repetition limit the
development of critical thinking and deep comprehension of texts. Peña (2025)
confirms this reality in the Ecuadorian context, showing that many third-grade
teachers do not master active methodologies for developing reading
comprehension, which directly impacts their students’ reading performance.
In contrast, recent research highlights the
effectiveness of active pedagogical approaches. According to Villón et al.
(2024), collaborative learning improves reading comprehension by fostering
dialogue among peers, the exchange of concepts, and the joint construction of
meaning. Merlin et al. (2025) confirm that active strategies applied in
elementary school lead to significant improvements in all three levels of
reading comprehension by placing students in charge of their own learning.
Armijos et al. (2023) add that a review of Latin
American studies shows that active reading comprehension strategies produce
consistent positive results when applied from the earliest years of schooling.
Benavides and Zambrano (2023) complement this perspective by demonstrating that
self-regulated reading comprehension supported by technological tools improves
reading performance. Basuki and Purwanta (2025) demonstrate that project-based
multisensory instruction facilitates the comprehension and retention of
information by integrating visual, auditory, and kinesthetic stimuli.
Cognitive Stimulation and the
Development of Reading Skills
Cognitive stimulation is not an optional add-on in
the classroom; it is a prerequisite for students to access deeper levels of
comprehension. In their systematic review, Reina et al. (2024) conclude that
cognitive stimulation programs targeting children aged 6 to 12 have a
significant positive impact on reading skills, particularly inferential
comprehension and verbal memory.
Romero et al. (2023) confirm that Ecuadorian
elementary school students have fallen significantly behind in reading since
the pandemic, making it urgent to implement strategies that activate cognitive
processes starting in the early grades. Bernal et al. (2024) add that the
integration of digital technologies into language and literature instruction
has a positive impact on reading comprehension and creativity among elementary
school students. Along the same lines, Tambaco et al. (2024) demonstrate that
short stories significantly improve reading comprehension among students in the
lower elementary grades of the EGB.
The Role of the Teacher in Teaching
Reading Comprehension
Those who teach reading have much more than a
technical skill in their hands; they have the responsibility to develop readers
who understand, reflect, and think independently. Wang and Shapii (2026) point
out that teachers’ subject-matter and pedagogical knowledge directly influences
the quality of reading instruction, and that teachers who master specific
teaching strategies achieve better results in their students’ reading
performance. Palomares (2025) adds that teachers must not only promote reading but
also implement concrete classroom strategies that enable students to comprehend
different types of texts and recognize how to improve their own reading
process.
In the early years of General Basic Education,
teachers do more than just teach students to read; they guide students to
understand what they read, use comprehension strategies, and develop a critical
perspective on texts. García Aguilar et al. (2025) confirm that the application
of active methods and well-thought-out pedagogical strategies leads to notable
improvements in the reading comprehension of elementary school students,
particularly when combined with resources that stimulate motivation and reflective
teaching practice. For this reason, such training is indispensable; it is a
fundamental prerequisite for addressing reading challenges from the earliest
years. Along these lines, Sibri and Pinduisaca (2025) demonstrate that guided
reading allows teachers to model, step by step, how to think about and
understand a text, enabling students to progress gradually from a literal level
to an inferential and critical level.
Materials and Methods
To answer the research questions guiding this study,
a mixed-methods approach was chosen, combining a systematic review of the
scientific literature with a descriptive–correlational empirical study. This
combination made it possible not only to understand what the theory says about
the reading comprehension but also to contrast it with what occurs in a real
elementary school classroom. The integration of quantitative and qualitative
methods provided a broader and deeper understanding of the phenomenon under
study. According to Creswell & Creswell (2023), this
approach facilitates data triangulation and strengthens the validity of the
results. In recent studies on reading comprehension, this design has proven
relevant for linking student performance to the pedagogical practices
implemented in the classroom (Abad Cano et al., 2025; Cuenca & Silva,
2022).
The study was conducted using a
descriptive-correlational design, which allowed us to describe students’
reading comprehension levels and analyze the relationship between that
performance and the teaching strategies employed by the teacher. This type of design
is appropriate when the aim is to identify associations between variables
without directly manipulating them (Hernández & Mendoza, 2020). Related
research has used this design to study factors associated with reading
comprehension in similar school contexts (Rodríguez & Poveda, 2020).
The study was conducted at the Guido Garay Vargas
Machuca Public School, a public institution located in the city of Guayaquil,
Guayas Province, Ecuador, during the 2024–2025 school year. Sixty students in
the second, third, and fourth grades of General Basic Education participated;
they were purposefully selected because they were actively enrolled in the
grades of interest and regularly attended classes.
Two instruments were used. The first was a reading
comprehension test designed for the elementary level, based on the narrative
text “La biblioteca del aula.” The test explored three levels of comprehension:
literal comprehension, with questions about explicit information in the text;
inferential comprehension, with questions asking students to connect ideas and
interpret what was not explicitly stated; and critical comprehension, with
questions inviting students to express opinions and connect the text to their
own experiences. The results were recorded using a rubric with four performance
levels: achieved, in progress, initial, and not demonstrated, along with their
respective interpretation criteria.
The second instrument was a teacher observation form
with eight criteria that made it possible to identify which methodological
strategies the teacher employed in teaching reading: whether they asked
inferential questions, whether they promoted collaborative work, and whether
they stimulated critical thinking, among other key aspects. The intentional
sampling method applied considered criteria such as enrollment, active , and
regular attendance—a procedure recommended in educational field studies
(Hernández & Mendoza, 2020).
Before administering the instruments, three
specialists in language and literature and reading instruction reviewed each
item to ensure that they were clear, relevant, and consistent with the reading
comprehension levels to be assessed. Their observations were incorporated into
the final version of the instruments. Expert judgment, a widely used technique, ensures content validity
in educational research for the application of the instrument (Escobar &
Cuervo, 2008).
The researchers personally administered the reading
comprehension test and the teacher observation form at the Guido Garay Vargas
Machuca Public School during the 2025 school year. Each student worked
individually, without external interference. Prior authorization was obtained
from school officials, and teachers were informed of the study’s objectives.
The quantitative data obtained from the reading
comprehension test were analyzed using descriptive statistics, calculating
frequencies and percentages by comprehension level and by grade. The
qualitative data derived from the teacher observation form were interpreted
through content analysis. The triangulation of both sources made it possible to
establish relationships between the teaching practices observed in the
classroom and the levels of reading comprehension achieved by the students.
Results
Table 1. Reading
Comprehension Levels Among Elementary School Students
The data
are compelling: 45% of the 60 students assessed show no evidence of reading
comprehension, and 25% are barely at the initial level. This means that seven
out of ten students have significant difficulties understanding what they read,
even after they have acquired basic decoding skills. Only 10% reached the
expected level, confirming that reading comprehension in elementary school is a
real and urgent educational problem. This finding aligns with the reports by
Ramírez et al. (2025) and Flores et al. (2025), who confirm that the greatest
difficulties are concentrated at the inferential level from the earliest years
of schooling.
Of the six
teachers observed, four prioritize reading comprehension over mechanical
reading, relate the text to prior experiences, and encourage active
participation in class. However, only two apply active strategies and stimulate
critical thinking, and only one uses visual or multisensory resources, asks
inferential questions, or encourages collaborative work. This means that more
than 80% of teachers do not integrate active, collaborative, or multisensory
strategies into their teaching practice, which largely explains the low levels
of reading comprehension observed among students.
The reading comprehension test showed that most of
the students assessed can identify explicit information in the text and answer
literal-level questions. However, they exhibit significant difficulties when
asked to make inferences, establish causal connections, or formulate justified
opinions about what they have read. This pattern is observed across the three
grades analyzed, being most pronounced in second grade, where the difference
between decoding and deep comprehension is most evident.
The analysis of classroom observations showed that,
of the eight criteria considered, most teachers consistently apply only three:
they promote reading comprehension rather than superficial reading, connect the
text to students’ prior experiences, and encourage active participation during
class. However, they do not implement active techniques such as discussions or
games, do not promote teamwork, do not use visual or multisensory materials, do
not ask questions that require inference, and do not regularly encourage
critical thinking. This predominant use of traditional methods limits the
creation of complex meanings and partly explains the low levels of reading
comprehension observed among students.
The triangulation of both data sources allows us to
identify a direct relationship between the observed teaching practices and the
levels of reading comprehension achieved. Students whose teachers do not apply
active strategies or ask inferential questions tend to fall into the “initial”
and “not evident” levels of the rubric. This finding is consistent with the
observations of (Peña, 2025; Cieza, 2023), who note that the predominance of
traditional methodologies negatively impacts the development of complex reading
skills from the earliest years of schooling.
The results of this study are not surprising, but
they are cause for concern. The fact that 70% of the students assessed are at
the “initial” and “not evident” levels is no minor matter; it is a sign that
something is not working well in the teaching of reading from the earliest
years of schooling.
What is most striking is that these difficulties do
not arise because the children cannot read. They can decode, identify words,
and answer basic questions. The problem arises when they are asked to go
further: to infer, to connect ideas, and to express opinions. That is where 70%
of them get stuck. Flores et al. (2025) and Quezada et al. (2024) confirm
exactly this pattern in their studies of second- and third-grade students,
which suggests that the findings of this research are not an isolated case, but
rather part of a structural difficulty that recurs in various Latin American
contexts.
Nieto (2025) reports that 75% of elementary school
students experience similar limitations at the regional level. The fact that
the data from the Guido Garay Vargas Machuca Public School come so close to
that percentage confirms that the problem transcends the institution and
requires a systemic response, not just isolated corrective measures.
Classroom observation provides the missing piece to
understanding why this occurs. Sixty percent of the pedagogical criteria
evaluated are not applied consistently. Teachers do not ask inferential
questions, do not promote collaborative work, and do not use multisensory
resources. Peña (2025) had already noted that many third-grade teachers do not
master active methodologies for reading comprehension, and the results of this
study confirm that this methodological gap also exists in other grades of elementary
school.
However, it would be unfair to reduce the problem to
a failure on the part of teachers. What the data reveal is more complex: the
teachers observed do motivate their students, do connect texts to prior
experiences, and do promote comprehension over mechanical reading. They have
pedagogical intent. What they lack are concrete strategies to translate that
intent into deep learning. Benavides and Zambrano (2023) and Basuki and
Purwanta (2025) demonstrate that when these strengths are combined with active
methodologies, technology, and multisensory resources, outcomes improve
significantly. The starting point exists; what is needed is to build upon it.
Finally, these results reinforce what Wang and
Shapii (2026) and García Aguilar et al. (2025) clearly argue: teachers’
pedagogical knowledge and the quality of educational interventions are the
factors that most strongly influence students’ reading performance. Investing
in teacher training is not an expense; it is the most effective decision an
education system can make if it wants to transform its reading comprehension
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Guido Garay Vargas
Machuca School
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1222-6939
Maricela.luna@educacion.gob.ec
Guido
Garay Vargas Machuca School
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3862-399X
adelaida.peralta@educacion.gob.ec
Guido
Garay Vargas Machuca School
Guido Garay Vargas
Machuca School
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4607-0182
University
of Guayaquil
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1607-5299