Reading Processes and Executive Functions: Evidence for Their Association in Middle Childhood

Background: Reading is a fundamental component of education, playing a significant role in enhancing intelligence, facilitating communication, and promoting independence. Prior research has established a connection between executive functions and the development of reading abilities, as these functions affect the allocation of cognitive resources, comprehension regulation, and problem-solving related to reading tasks. Objective: This investigation examined the relationship between reading processes and executive functions among schoolchildren in Cuenca, Ecuador. Method: 212 children (M=8.95 years) from six educational institutions took the PROLEC-R Test and the Cognitif CAB PRO. Results: The findings indicated a positive relationship between inhibition and tasks such as “Name of letters,” “Grammatical structures,” “Punctuation marks,” and “Oral comprehension.” Cognitive flexibility exhibited correlations with all variables except for “Understanding texts” and “Name of letters.” Conversely, working memory was linked to all variables, excluding “Name of letters.” Conclusions: These results imply that executive functions, particularly inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory, are crucial for reading development, as they facilitate sustained attention, adaptation to new vocabulary, and information retention, thereby enhancing reading comprehension. Improving these capabilities may be essential for optimizing reading outcomes in schoolchildren.