Critical reading: a challenge for early childhood education

Critical reading involves multiple cognitive factors in the individual and is a pedagogical, psycholinguistic and sociocultural challenge that deserves attention in linguistic, pedagogical, sociocultural and psychological studies. This documentary research examines the potential of critical reading in children and adolescents in educational institutions, especially in the primary education sector in Riohacha, Colombia. It highlights the concern of the Colombian Ministry of Education to link critical reading as a fundamental axis in the teaching-learning processes. Limedis Castillo Mendoza, teacher-tutor of the Tutoring Program for Learning and Integral Formation 3.0, directs this process in the Educational Institution Centro de Integración Popular and works as an oral narrator and reading mediator through the Kamishibai technique in public schools. The methodology was based on a documentary research, analyzing studies on critical reading in elementary school students in Colombia, considering research with direct observation and surveys. The results indicate that research has focused on the analysis of critical reading in the pedagogical work of the teacher and the creation of interest in students. Critical reading fosters analysis, comprehension, argumentation and activation of the students' cognitive apparatus, strengthening their autonomy and capacity to evaluate social and cultural actions. An improvement was found in the children's ability to discover the main idea and general sense of the text, although they face obstacles such as unknown words and unexplained data. The need for teachers to facilitate discussion and reflection on texts to encourage critical thinking and active participation of students is highlighted. Critical reading enriches students' competence, allowing them to develop autonomous and libertarian thinking, crucial for students to free themselves from imitation and repetition of content, and move towards critical and autonomous thinking.