Reading comprehension and its importance in education: Challenges and strategies

Abstract

This topic seeks to raise an important educational issue faced by many learners within the educational system, namely learning to read and achieving reading comprehension, beginning at the primary level, which is considered one of the fundamental stages of education in society. As a supportive and foundational phase, it contributes, on the one hand, to preparing a learner capable of reading texts and understanding them, and on the other hand, to the overall success of the teaching–learning process. Accordingly, the aim of this article is to examine the extent to which learners possess reading comprehension skills, given their strong connection to prevailing conceptions of reading, since a large portion of school learning depends on the ability to read and comprehend texts. Reading comprehension thus represents the pathway through which learners grasp the content and meanings of written texts. To achieve this objective, the topic has been approached through a scientific methodology aimed at highlighting its importance within the educational system by addressing a set of pedagogical issues and didactic considerations that lie at the core of the subject and that may contribute to overcoming this problem and reducing its severity. In light of the work conducted, the study concludes with the necessity of giving sustained attention to the development of reading comprehension skills among learners at all levels of education, as these skills constitute the essence of many challenges within the teaching–learning process and a fundamental factor influencing all educational stages. This requires the combined efforts of teachers, families, and educational institutions to provide a supportive and encouraging environment for reading and comprehension, as an indispensable component in the fields of language and education.