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Vol.15, No.3, August 2026. ISSN: 2217-8309 eISSN: 2217-8333
TEM Journal
TECHNOLOGY, EDUCATION, MANAGEMENT, INFORMATICS Association for Information Communication Technology Education and Science |
Critical Thinking as a Predictor of Reading Comprehension Skills
Ivana Poulikova, Zdenka Gadusova
© 2026 Ivana Poulikova, published by UIKTEN. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Citation Information: TEM Journal. Volume 15, Issue 3, Pages 2645-2653, ISSN 2217-8309, DOI: 10.18421/TEM153-53, August 2026.
Received: 13 August 2025.
Abstract:
The study explores the relationship between critical thinking and reading comprehension among lower-secondary school students in Slovakia. The theoretical basis suggests that both competencies are closely interconnected and play a crucial role in academic achievement, particularly in language learning contexts. Based on this theoretical assumption, the present research adopts a quantitative correlational design to examine whether students’ critical thinking abilities are associated with their reading comprehension performance. The findings from using a critical thinking questionnaire and a reading comprehension test indicate a meaningful positive relationship between critical thinking and reading comprehension (r = 0.40, p = .002), suggesting that students who demonstrate stronger critical thinking skills tend to achieve better results in reading tasks. The study thus contributes to the growing evidence supporting the integration of higher-order thinking skills into language instruction. It provides empirical support for curricular approaches that align reading with critical literacy development.
Keywords – Critical thinking, reading comprehension, lower-secondary education. |
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