The Relationship Between Primary School 4th Grade Students' Reader Self-Concept and Reading Comprehension Levels

The term "reader self-perception" is used to describe the individual's concept of themselves as a reader. It encompasses children's personal beliefs, attitudes, and observations pertaining to reading activities. The reader’s self-concept is shaped by the interaction of three key factors: the child's perception of their own competence in the reading process, their perception of reading as either easy or difficult, and their attitudes towards reading. The objective of this study was to ascertain the relationship between fourth-grade primary school students' perceptions of their reading self and their reading comprehension levels. The research was conducted using a relational survey model. The study group consisted of 252 students, 120 female and 132 male, in the 4th grade of primary school in public schools in the Yenimahalle district of the Ankara province. The data were collected using two instruments: the Reading Comprehension Test, which was employed to assess the students' reading comprehension abilities, and the Reader Self-Perception Scale, which was utilized to ascertain their perceptions of reading. The data were analysed using the SPSS 22 package program. The data were analysed using a t-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. The findings of the study indicated that there was a positive and moderate correlation between students' self-perception as readers and their reading comprehension abilities. In the study, the relationship between the sub-dimensions of the reader self-perception scale and reading comprehension was examined. The results revealed a statistically positive and moderate level of a significant relationship between the reading comprehension levels of primary school 4th grade students and the attitude, difficulty and competence sub-dimension scores. When the mean scores were considered, it was determined that female students exhibited a higher reading self-concept than their male counterparts.