Enhancing Reading Proficiency Through Science-Based Instructional Strategies: A Literature Review

This study examines the implementation and sustainability of science-based reading interventions to improve literacy among secondary students. Rooted in the researchers’ current teaching context in a rural public high school in the Philippines, the study addresses the observed difficulties faced by non-proficient readers who struggle to decode and comprehend academic texts. It examines explicit teaching, interdisciplinary approaches, and cognitive skill development as effective strategies for integrating literacy with content learning. This research uses current evidence through reviewing the literature available on the internet, including the use of academic databases such as Google Scholar, ResearchGate, JSTOR, and ERIC, to systematically collect peer-reviewed articles from 2018 to 2024. It includes some aspects of explicit instruction toward the development of comprehension, an interdisciplinary framework that enhances engagement with value, and metacognitive strategies that enhance learning by self-regulation. At the same time, the research emphasizes the need for teacher education, curriculum relevance, administrative support, and community involvement to make these interventions sustainable in natural classroom settings. Results from the reviewed literature show that explicit teaching, interdisciplinary approaches, and cognitive development reading strategies consistently lead to measurable improvements in comprehension.