The relationship between executive function skills and reading comprehension achievement in 4th grade primary school students

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between fourth-grade primary school students' executive function skills and their reading comprehension performance. In the study, students' inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory skills were measured; the relationships between these skills and reading comprehension performance were investigated, and whether the components of executive functions significantly predicted reading comprehension performance was analyzed. In line with this objective, the study was carried out using the correlational survey model, one of the quantitative research methods. The study group consisted of 263 fourth-grade students from two primary schools located in the Bayrampaşa district of Istanbul. As data collection tools, the Stroop Test TBAG Form, Number Series Learning Test, and Multiple-Choice Reading Comprehension Test were used. The data were analyzed using the Jamovi software. During the analysis process, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were utilized. According to the results of the study, significant relationships were found between students' inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory skills and their reading comprehension performance. It was revealed that as students' inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility skills improved, their reading comprehension performance increased. A moderate, positive, and significant relationship was found between working memory skills and reading comprehension performance. The results of the multiple regression analysis examining the relationship between reading comprehension performance and executive function skills indicated that inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory skills significantly predicted reading comprehension performance.