Teachers’ Reading Comprehension and Use of Reading Strategies Levels: A Study on the Secondary School Teachers

Abstract

As highlighted by international assessments, the reading comprehension levels of Turkish students are far from the desired level. In this sense, the competencies of teachers who play a vital role in promoting students' reading comprehension skills are of high importance. The expectation that teachers who have a long educational life will have a high level of reading comprehension skills is the central starting point for this study. Identifying the level of reading comprehension of teachers is crucially important in terms of revealing competency levels of teachers. In this study, a descriptive screening model, one of the quantitative research methods, was employed to identify teachers’ levels of reading comprehension and use of reading strategies. The universe of the research consists of teachers working in secondary schools in Denizli province. Stratified sampling, which is based on probability sampling, was used for the selection of the sample. The sample included a total of 418 teachers. The research findings indicate that the teachers' reading comprehension and use of reading strategies levels differ by the branch variable, and Turkish teachers exhibit better reading comprehension than other teachers since it is their field of study. In addition to that, it is seen that there is a positive and significant relationship between the level of use of reading strategies and the level of reading comprehension. Therefore, it is thought that an effective instruction of reading strategies will enable teachers of other branches to yield better performance.

Keywords: Reading Comprehension, Reading Strategy, Secondary School Teachers