The Impact Of Executive Function On Reading Comprehension Of High School Students In Competitive Situations

In recent years,more and more educational psychologists have paid attention to the study on the relation between executive function and reading comprehension.At home and abroad,there are relatively a few studies on the effect of executive function in the educational context and on executive function and reading comprehension of high school students.Based on the theories of Simple View of Reading and cognitive resource,this research explored the predictive power of executive function on high school student's reading comprehension,and the moderating effect of competitiveness in the relationship between executive function and reading comprehension.The current research consisted of three sub-studies: pilot study,Study 1 and Study 2.Pilot study explored the relationships between the three components of executive function and reading comprehension among senior high school students.It collected data of 141 7th grade students in 4 classes in a high school in Nanjing,including 59 boys and 64 girls(18 with gender information missing).Based on the results of pilot study,Study 1 investigated 97 7th grade students from two classes in a girl school in Nanjing,exploring the relationship between inhibition and updating and predicting reading comprehension from inhibition and updating.In study 2,88 7th grade students were recruited,among whom,44 in the experimental group(24 boys,20 girls)and 44 in the control group(20 boys,24 girls).The study examined the influence of competitive condition on executive function and reading comprehension;the interaction between competitive situation and gender on executive function and reading comprehension;and the moderating effect of competitive condition on the relationship between executive function and reading comprehension.Pilot study showed that inhibition was significantly correlated with updating 1;updating 1 was significantly correlated with updating 2;and updating 1 and updating 2 both were marginally significantly correlation with the total score of reading comprehension.Study 1 found that,(1)inhibition was significantly correlated with updating 1;(2)inhibition had a significant predictive effect on narrative reading;after age and academic performance controlled for,updating 2 significantly predicted the total score of reading comprehension.Study 2 showed that,(1)in competitive condition,inhibition was significantly higher than that in control group;updating 1 and updating 2 were slightly improved at a marginally significant manner;and no significant difference was found in reading comprehension.(2)Competitive condition and gender had no interactive effect on executive function and reading comprehension.(3)Competitive condition had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between inhibition and paragraph reading.In control group,inhibition significantly positively predicted paragraph reading comprehension,whereas in competitive condition inhibition had a slightly negative significant prediction for paragraph reading comprehension.The interaction between competitive condition and updating 1 was significant,but the specific moderating effect of competitive condition on the total score of reading comprehension was not significant.At last,the dissertation discussed the contribution of this research to empirical research and educational practice,analyzed its limitations,and provided guidance and suggestion for high school students' cognitive training of reading comprehension at school.