Mapping Reading Literacy Research in Primary Education: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59110/edutrend.1015Keywords:
Literacy Intervention, Primary Education, PIRLS Framework, Reading Literacy, Systematic Literature ReviewAbstract
Reading literacy is a foundational competency in primary education, yet research on its development is distributed unevenly across cognitive, affective, instructional, and contextual dimensions, particularly in literature published after the COVID-19 disruption. This systematic review integrates research characteristics, contextual factors, and evaluated interventions within a single PIRLS-based framework. Peer-reviewed studies published between 2021 and 2026 were retrieved from Scopus and screened using prespecified eligibility criteria, with reporting guided by PRISMA 2020. Of 107 records initially identified, 29 studies were included. The studies were mapped according to (1) methodological, geographical, and publication characteristics; (2) contextual factors associated with reading literacy at student, home, school/classroom, and national/community levels; and (3) instructional approaches and literacy programs evaluated in primary education. The corpus was dominated by quantitative and intervention-oriented designs, with research attention concentrated at the student and school/classroom levels. Intervention studies most frequently examined classroom-based approaches, whereas home- and system-level initiatives were less common. Because no formal risk-of-bias appraisal or meta-analysis was undertaken, the findings are interpreted descriptively rather than as comparative estimates of intervention effectiveness. The review highlights the need for more transparent, multi-level, and context-sensitive literacy research, including work in underrepresented settings.
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