Factors influencing reading achievements in Asia: A cross-educational system comparison using PIRLS 2021 data

Abstract

This study examined the factors influencing reading achievement based on the results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2021 (PIRLS 2021). Comparative studies exclusively targeting the Asian region are scarce. Many previous studies neglect the joint effect of multiple factors. To highlight the holistic understanding of complex system of reading achievement, this study analysed student and parent data from Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Macao, and Singapore using psychometric network analysis. Seven impactful factors were found: reading self-efficacy, number of children’s books at home, parental expectation of child’s future educational level, parental perception of child’s literacy ability when beginning primary school, students’ experience of school bullying, frequency of discussing previous reading materials in class, and frequency of school absence, with the first four being positive and last three being negative factors. The study compared the impact of these factors between the four above-mentioned Asian regions, and some practical recommendations were derived from the results.