Modeling the Development of Reading Comprehension

Abstract

A skilled reader can derive the meaning from a printed text rapidly and effortlessly. Becoming a skilled reader takes time and practice and is one of the main goals of primary school education. Since the previous edition of this book in 2005, research in this area has flourished and there are now many longitudinal studies examining how reading comprehension develops. This chapter will focus on what we know about the development of reading comprehension in the early school years, with a particular emphasis on understanding causal processes.