A Convergent Parallel Study on the Relationship between Metacognitive Reading Strategy and Reading Comprehension among Grade 6 Pupils in Kapalong

This research explored the relationship between metacognitive reading strategies and reading comprehension of grade 6 students at Maniki Central Elementary School SPED Center using a convergent parallel mixed methods approach. By the descriptive findings, students exhibited a strong use of metacognitive strategies with an overall mean score of 4.03, and likewise performed similarly with high reading comprehension performance, having an overall score of 14.10 and a mean of 1.87. With Pearson's correlation analysis, there is a significant positive correlation (r = 0.204, p < 0.05), indicating that students who regularly utilize metacognitive strategies also tend to have a better understanding of written texts. Additionally, qualitative data confirmed the quantitative data; students were more confident, had improved self-monitoring, and demonstrated increased problem-solving skills when doing reading tasks. The qualitative and quantitative data sets overlapped and aligned in meaningful ways. For example, students reported using rereading, previewing, and referencing in the surveys, which were also reflected in their backgrounds. Consistency held across the data sets and indicated the importance of metacognitive strategies in improving reading comprehension. Therefore, we recommend that explicit instruction of metacognitive strategies appended to reading programs may aid students to become more independent readers and more focused readers.