Unveiling the Learning Crisis: Understanding the Reading Comprehension Challenges in Multilingual Contexts

• In Event: Understanding and measuring reading comprehension in multilingual, low- and middle-income countries: emerging research from the RELM and LITES studies

Proposal

The persistent global learning crisis, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, has highlighted the critical issue of reading comprehension in the Global South. In multilingual contexts, where children often receive instruction in a language that is not spoken at home, this challenge is particularly severe. Despite widespread use of assessments like the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), there remains a significant gap in understanding the specific factors that contribute to poor reading comprehension. The current study addresses this gap by employing Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to explore the reading profiles of grade four students struggling with reading comprehension in Rwanda, Kenya, and the Philippines.

This research focuses on identifying latent subgroups within a population of students who are instructed in a second language (L2). The analysis is grounded in the Simple View of Reading (SVR) framework, which dissects reading into decoding and language comprehension components. By applying LCA, we uncovered distinct subgroups of students characterized by different skill profiles, providing new insights into the specific challenges faced by poor comprehenders in multilingual settings.

In this panel, we will present the results that emerged from employing the LCA approach. Our findings reveal that students can be categorized into several latent classes based on the severity and nature of their reading difficulties. In all three countries, we identified groups of students with severe global reading difficulties, as well as those with more specific challenges in either decoding or language comprehension.

The implications of this study are significant for educational interventions. Understanding the distinct profiles of struggling readers allows for the development of tailored interventions that address the unique needs of each subgroup. This research also demonstrates the utility of LCA in educational research, particularly in multilingual contexts, and provides a foundation for future studies aiming to improve literacy outcomes in similar settings.

Authors

• Fernanda Soares, University of Notre Dame

• Caroline Freeman, University of Notre Dame

• Pooja Nakamura, American Institutes for Research

• TJ D'Agostino, University of Notre Dame