The effect of educational comics on primary school students' reading skills and acquisition of determined values

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of reading activities based on educational comics on primary school students' reading skills and their acquisition of certain values. For this purpose, the study was designed using a mixed-methods approach. In the quantitative part of the research, changes in students' reading levels, reading speeds, and reading errors were examined, and the study was structured according to a single-group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design. In the qualitative part, students' perceptions of the effects of educational comics on values were examined, and the study was conducted using a phenomenological design, which focuses on exploring experiences and perceptions. The study group consisted of 11 third-grade students studying at a public primary school located in the Haliliye district of Şanlıurfa province during the fall semester of the 2024–2025 academic year. The researcher also served as the classroom teacher of the study group. The students were selected using criterion sampling, one of the purposive sampling methods. The criterion used in determining the study group was that the students were at the frustration or instructional level in terms of reading proficiency. Within the scope of the research, selected educational comics were implemented with the study group for nine weeks through activities designed based on the choral reading method. Data related to reading skills were collected using the Miscue Analysis Inventory, while data related to values were obtained through an interview form. Quantitative data on reading skills were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, whereas qualitative data on values were analyzed using content analysis. The findings were presented through tables and graphs. According to the results, it was determined that reading activities based on educational comics improved the reading levels of third-grade primary school students, increased their word recognition percentages, reduced the number of reading errors, and enabled them to acquire the targeted values.