Development of the Reading Comprehension Strategies Questionnaire (RCSQ) for late elementary school students

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Literacy Studies

Background:

• Reading comprehension strategies are crucial for academic success in late elementary education.
• Existing measurement tools for these strategies in this age group are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Reading Comprehension Strategies Questionnaire (RCSQ) for late elementary students.
• To explore individual differences in reading comprehension strategy use.

Main Methods:

• Development and validation of the 26-item RCSQ using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.
• Two large student samples (n=1585 each) were utilized.
• Multilevel analyses were conducted to examine strategy use variations.

Main Results:

• The RCSQ was validated, comprising five subscales: overt cognitive, covert cognitive, monitoring, evaluating, and a unique subscale for bilingual students ('using home language').
• Multilevel analyses identified individual differences in strategy application among students.

Conclusions:

• The RCSQ provides a reliable measure for assessing reading comprehension strategies in late elementary students.
• Findings offer insights for educational practices and future research on reading development.