Teaching strategies for reading comprehension applied and perceived: a study with teachers and students in the fourth grade of basic education

Students who enter a specific cycle of studies must have efficiently demonstrated the reading and writing skills they acquired in the previous stage, which will allow them to continue with adequate training. However, data show a different reality. The objective of this study is to identify the main methodological strategies used by teachers for the understanding of written texts in the context of basic general education in the districts of Chone-Flavio Alfaro, Manta-Montecristi-Jaramijo, Portoviejo, Jipijapa, and El Carmen in the province of Manabi (Ecuador). A survey was applied to 172 fourth-grade teachers and 4310 students with an instrument that had previously been validated by a group of experts using the Delphi method. The results of this study indicated that there are significant differences between the data from teachers and those from students. The analysis shows that the methods of teaching reading based on traditional pedagogical paradigms that teachers claim to apply (such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism) do not usually coincide with the methodologies perceived by students. The results are discussed with related studies, and it is concluded that strategies must be carefully chosen for each phase of the reading process, which implies initial and ongoing teacher training on the most effective methods for developing competent readers who understand to learn and enjoy the process of reading.