Higher background knowledge enables better reading comprehension for both skilled and low-skilled primary readers¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Across reviewed studies, children with stronger topic knowledge comprehend texts better than when reading similarly cohesive texts on unfamiliar topics, for both skilled and low-skilled readers. → Reid Smith 2021

Evidence¶

Reid Smith 2021¶

Reid Smith, Pamela Snow, Tanya Serry & Lorraine Hammond (2021) The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Comprehension: A Critical Review, Reading Psychology, 42:3, 214-240, https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2021.1888348

q2 · i? · review · r2

Critical review synthesis of 23 empirical studies (quasi-experimental and correlational) with children ages 6-12. The review reports this as a consistent finding across studies (Marr & Gormley, 1982; Reutzel & Morgan, 1990; Taft & Leslie, 1985).

"We consistently found that higher levels of background knowledge enable children to better comprehend a text. Readers who have a strong knowledge of a particular topic, both in terms of quantity and quality of knowledge, are more able to comprehend a text than a similarly cohesive text for which they lack background knowledge."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Prior Knowledge — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Text cohesion interacts with background knowledge: low-knowledge readers benefit from high cohesion, high-knowledge readers from low cohesion (reverse cohesion effect) — related
• Reader misconceptions inhibit comprehension; low-skill readers prefer prior knowledge over contradictory text information — related
• Background knowledge has a greater impact on comprehension of expository texts than narrative texts for primary children — related
• Low-skilled readers with strong background knowledge partially compensate for poor reading skill at the textbase level but not for inferencing — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Disadvantaged children may struggle with reading comprehension because they often lack general vocabulary and strategies for organizing information from text — related
• The comprehension-skill difference in inference making persists after controlling for memory for the text and delayed retention of the knowledge base — related