Structured Reading Strategies and Comprehension Gains Among Ghanaian Basic School Pupils

<title>Abstract</title> <p>While reading comprehension has been identified as a major challenge for lower primary learners in Ghana, there is little evidence of effective classroom-based interventions. This study focused on the combined influence of three structured reading instructional interventions: Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), Modelled Reading, and Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) strategy on the reading comprehension performance of the Basic Two (B2) in a public basic school in Ghana. A single group, pretest–posttest design with an action research approach was used, which involved 50 purposively selected pupils for 4 weeks of intervention. The reading achievement data were collected through teacher-created comprehension tests before and at the end of each phase of instruction. The changes in performance were evaluated using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics comprising the chi-square test of homogeneity and the Cochran-Armitage trend test. The percentage of pupils at a level lower than the average decreased from 60% at baseline to 14% after the entire intervention sequence, and those pupils at above-average and excellent levels rose from 20% to 76%. The overall performance distributions varied significantly from assessment occasion to assessment occasion (χ²(9, N = 200) = 38.57, p &lt; .001), and there was a significant improvement trend (z = 5.16, p &lt; .001). Although caution must be taken in interpreting the results due to the lack of a control group, the results suggest that sequential, strategy-based reading instruction can make a significant contribution to early reading comprehension. The study highlight the relevance of structured literacy intervention to enhance the core reading skills and for teacher professional development and literacy policy in Ghana.</p>