This article presents the results of a study investigating the reality observed in fifth-grade students of the Magdalena bank Educational Institution in the Department of Santa Teresa de Jesús regarding cognitive self-regulation strategies and reading habits. The study aimed to analyze educational strategies for self-regulation of reading comprehension in fifth-grade students. The methodology is based on qualitative methodologies of a descriptive level, adapted to the framework of a case study. Data collection instruments included reading manuals and semi-structured interviews; the cohort consisted of 15 students who participated with the approval of their tutors. The results highlighted the need for families to foster reading habits due to their impact on student performance, influenced by factors such as lack of motivation, decreased self-confidence, absence of routines, and reading comprehension problems. It is concluded that it is necessary to renew strategies that encourage parental involvement in cultivating reading habits and enjoyment, as well as promoting self-regulation among students. Adopting new educational approaches that assign greater responsibilities to families is advised.

Keywords: self-regulation, reading comprehension, strategies, self-regulation strategies.

In the 21st century, educational systems must prepare students to compete globally, strengthening their skills, abilities, and knowledge to adapt to a constantly changing world. According to Acosta Faneite & Boscán Andrade (2014), education aims to help students understand their environment and gain a global perspective on it.

Acosta & Finol (2015) argue that today's society presents increasing demands, making it necessary to use education as a tool to prepare and train students to face new educational and social challenges. Acosta Faneite & Blanco Rosado (2022) suggest that this requires promoting a greater focus on developing skills that facilitate cognitive processes.

In the Latin American context, the formation and adaptation of reading processes are of great relevance. Understanding ideas allows students to process information cognitively, improving their overall comprehension and enabling them to use rational thinking in problem-solving, thus contributing to their academic performance. Chimenti & Tonani (2024) state that reading comprehension is essential in a globalized context as it facilitates the assimilation of academic material and provides guidelines for problem-solving.

Competencies and skills to understand expressed ideas or information are crucial when making decisions in any situation or problem. They also contribute to developing committed citizens who participate in establishing a more equitable and harmonious society. This concept aligns with Epstein et al. (2018), who claim that teaching reading plays a crucial role in cognitive advancement, academic performance, and professional integration.

To achieve this, Acosta & Fuenmayor (2022) indicate that it is necessary to employ methodologies that motivate student participation and awaken their interest, turning reading into an adventure for discovering ideas. This can be achieved through pedagogical sequences that optimize the presentation of academic information, stimulate creative thinking, and encourage critical approaches to reading. In this context, Acosta (2022) emphasizes that teachers' strategies should be sequential and systematic to enhance educational processes, integrating students into the learning process.

In this regard, Ojeda (2022) notes that didactic strategies are based on disciplines such as philosophy, pedagogy, sociology, and psychology. These strategies include phases of diagnosis, development, implementation, assessment, and coping methods to optimize teachers' performance and develop students' abilities.

Acosta & Villalba (2022) pointed out that comprehension skills are developed through habits and can be assessed in the Colombian national test, allowing for national ranking. To achieve this, teachers must focus on fostering reading comprehension in students through didactic strategies. This goal is achieved through self-regulation, which facilitates setting objectives and goals and implies seeking ways to establish links with families to improve reading skills and, consequently, reading comprehension.

The study focused on fifth-grade students attending the Municipal Educational Institution "Santa Teresa de Jesús" in El Banco Magdalena. The main objective was to create and apply self-regulation techniques aimed at improving academic performance and promoting educational excellence. This is crucial as students' difficulties may be due to a lack of motivation for reading. Thus, the study provides an alternative to address the following question: why is reading considered crucial for students' professional development in all areas and disciplines? At the same time, it highlights the insufficiency of methodologies and approaches employed by educators to foster a holistic approach to reading.

Various studies have been conducted in this context, including the one by Pinzón and Suárez (2021), which aimed to analyze the impact of self-regulation components on developing reading skills. This study emphasizes the essential role of teachers as researchers, who not only teach but also investigate and apply self-regulation strategies to improve students' reading competence.

Similarly, Fonseca et al. (2019), in their research proposal, sought to evaluate the effectiveness of mediation strategy programs to optimize reading skills. They concluded that mediation plans are viable alternatives for significantly improving students' reading skills by offering a variety of learning methods that break the daily classroom routine.

In a similar vein, Robles (2018) aimed to investigate the correlation between self-regulation and reading comprehension. Reviewing the results, he concluded that modifying teaching approaches could improve self-regulation in the process of acquiring reading comprehension. Furthermore, educators suggest implementing consistent educational methods to improve university students' literacy skills by establishing a hierarchy of critical reading skills at different academic stages.

Conversely, establishing a broad relationship between reading and thinking leads to developing verbal and reasoning skills during the reading experience (Garzón, 2018). This improvement in reading comprehension facilitates the advancement of communicative skills, surpassing mere information decoding.

Following the sequence of ideas from previous authors, Pinzón & Suárez (2021) indicated that self-regulation is linked to behaviors and emotions developed by an individual in a trigram representation to achieve goals. This creates a positive environment for students to regulate various components of completing tasks, setting goals, monitoring, and evaluating their progress, and the effectiveness of their future learning.

Thus, the self-regulation process in education is evident in all systems and educational levels, showing progress in students from early school levels to higher education. Therefore, educators play a crucial role in this, improving students' awareness and independence through pedagogical methods that emphasize the importance of education and knowledge acquisition.

Furthermore, Silveira et al. (2020) state that promoting self-regulation strategies should consider motivating elements for students. These strategies should encourage students' spontaneous involvement towards personal and academic goals, stimulating their interest in achieving proposed goals and facilitating knowledge formation.

This underscores the importance of motivation in the educational process and highlights the need for both educators and students to provide ample opportunities for reading. It is also crucial to define clear objectives regarding promoting reading and its impact on students. It is worth noting that reading fosters the cultivation of independent and diverse emotional cognition. Delgado et al. (2007) propose that reading serves as a means to engage in social discourse and plays a fundamental role in shaping subjectivity, distinctiveness, conceptualization, critical and reflective capacity, and human independence in the context of globalization.

Regarding the reading process, López (2020) argues that it is widely recognized as the primary foundation for knowledge construction. Agreeing with this statement, reading is a process that generates experience and knowledge. This implies that for students to advance in formal educational processes and develop in the fields of formal and scientific knowledge, they need the ability to learn and behave reflectively.

González & Charria (1993) define these strategies as idiosyncratic, as they arise from students' requirements, demands, and interests and should be planned in advance based on all identified requirements. Therefore, it is urgent to consider how to set specific objectives concerning the students' context and support them with appropriate types of reading. In this regard, pedagogical professionals must create networks of interrelated and complementary actions that can expand over time and be relevant to students' daily lives. Reading processes should become habitual actions encompassing all aspects.

Marrufo-Rojas et al. (2024) argue that self-regulation is a fundamental resource in education, applicable in various situations and contexts to support students' knowledge acquisition and goal achievement. According to Bernal et al. (2024), these should occur before reading so that students can set clear goals, activate prior knowledge about the topic, and select an appropriate reading environment, helping them focus and motivate. They are also needed during reading, as it is important for students to monitor their comprehension, regulate their emotions, and adjust cognitive strategies to improve understanding. Additionally, after reading, students can summarize and reflect on what they have learned and self-evaluate their performance to identify improvement areas leading to a better plan.

Villena-Méndez et al. (2024) state that self-regulation is essential in emotionally intense situations, such as conflicts or moments of stress. In these contexts, the ability to self-regulate allows individuals to stay calm and make more rational decisions, crucial for effective problem-solving. Furthermore, self-regulation helps manage stress, reducing its negative impact on mental and physical health. By controlling their emotions, individuals can also foster empathy and social understanding, improving interpersonal relationships and facilitating collaboration and mutual support. This comprehensive approach benefits the individual and contributes to creating a more harmonious and resilient environment.

Within the framework of self-regulation in the Colombian educational system, Law No. 115 of 1994 aims to provide education with a more secure status and a global pedagogical perspective in various institutions, considering different viewpoints. Article 23 states that language, humanities, and foreign languages are mandatory and fundamental. The law also holds that reading is vital for knowledge acquisition from preschool and should be prioritized so that properly planned education and goals serve as the primary foundation for building knowledge. Literacy is implicit in all subjects, not just language classes, stimulating academic information processing and focusing on improving communication, reading, correct comprehension, speaking, and presentation.

Concerning the aforementioned strategies for self-regulation of comprehension and reading habits among fifth-grade students at IE Banco Magdalena, Santa Teresa de Jesús, and considering the theoretical foundations of the conducted research, the following questions arise: What factors influence motivation and self-regulation of learning, and how do they impact the academic performance of fifth-grade students in Santa Teresa de Jesús educational institutions? The main objective of the study is to analyze educational strategies for self-regulation of reading comprehension in fifth-grade students.

The research adopts a qualitative approach within a postpositivist framework, as defined by Acosta Faneite (2023), which employs procedural and empirical methods to interpret the experiences and perspectives of subjects regarding the studied phenomenon. This approach is characterized by generating descriptions based on people's expressions, observational data, and behaviors, thus reaching a descriptive level.

In this context, using knowledge provided by key sources, the objective was to address the problem of reading deficiencies and the absence of reading routines among fifth-grade students at the Jesús Santa Teresa Educational Institution in El Banco, Magdalena. According to Hernández-Sampieri & Mendoza (2018), the design of participatory action research involves the researcher formulating an action plan to intervene in the problem and suggest solutions. In this case, self-regulation-centered approaches were applied to improve reading procedures and foster reading practices.

Regarding population size, Hernández et al. (2014) conceptualize the population as the entire set of individuals immersed in the problematic situation under study. The sample consists of 15 students, carefully selected from a total group of 35 belonging to the educational institution. This group of students encompasses a diversity of ages, ranging from 9 to 12 years. Specifically, the participants were identified in the fifth-grade section "B," and their inclusion in the research was guided by criteria ensuring the obtainment of consent or permission from their parents or legal guardians.

In the realm of categories, self-regulation strategies are recognized as pedagogical devices that promote students' learning and their ability to set goals from their perspectives, driving them to seek autonomous ways to achieve them. In other words, these strategies stimulate autonomy in the learning process, allowing students to direct their own developmental paths by formulating objectives and adopting specific strategies tailored to their needs, resources, and preferences (Pintrich, 2003). While Svenbro (1997) characterized familiarization with categories and reading comprehension as recurring behaviors that foster process progress, these same authors conceptualized reading comprehension as the ability to extract ideas from the text and confer a coherent and logical meaning to the information.

Data analysis was conducted through the systematization of students' responses and teachers' representations to obtain new categories of information. These categories emerged from empirical methods and theoretical approaches, contrasting with those addressed in the mentioned study. Additionally, the reasoned approach of the researcher was incorporated, who assumes a position on the phenomena and categories after defining preliminary orientations, including empathy and theory. Reading guides, observation, and structured interviews were used as data collection instruments.

In the research phase, the diagnosis of the subjects at the Educational Institution in this study was based on selecting theories related to the new categories. Information was sought that could reveal the most critical areas of this issue, present in the institutions under study, also incorporating previous studies (background). A methodological structure was formulated that included a strategic action plan incorporating self-regulation techniques to foster reading habits and improve comprehension. The stages of the research were described, and instruments for data collection were designed to facilitate analysis and draw conclusions.

In the framework of the study, a detailed process of obtaining informed consent was carried out. This procedure included a comprehensive explanation to participants regarding the research's purpose, the procedures involved, potential benefits and risks, and any other relevant information that could influence their decision to participate. It was ensured that the language used was understandable for both students and their parents or legal guardians. Before obtaining consent, participants and their guardians were offered the opportunity to ask questions and receive satisfactory answers. Additionally, it was emphasized that participation was completely voluntary and free from any pressure or coercion.

Interpretation and analysis are presented separately, as each category has distinct aspects based on its components. This approach allows for the achievement of each research objective, considering the most pertinent theoretical conceptions. Regarding the central category, "Self-regulation strategy, comprehension, and reading habits," discoveries aligned with this are highlighted, and the perspectives derived from students' responses are illustrated in the following image:

Figure 1. Categories: Strategies for Self-regulation, and Reading Comprehension and Habits

Regarding self-regulation strategies, it is evident that fifth-grade students at the Santa Teresa de Jesús Educational Institution in El Banco, Magdalena, prioritize certain educational needs that negatively impact their academic achievements. This is evidenced by the low participation and lack of creativity stimulation. Concerning the comprehension of categories and reading habits, it is noted that students primarily read as a commitment to advance in their studies rather than for the pleasure of reading. Additionally, teachers rarely use reading as a tool to stimulate imagination, thereby turning students into objects of research. These patterns are identified by finding a central idea and connecting its meaning to personal experience.

To determine the findings of the subcategories, the students' criteria are contrasted with relevant theories. The collected information helps address the research question and is used to foster students' self-regulation to develop reading habits and promote comprehension. The interviewed teachers also stated that:

 Academic self-regulation empowers students with greater autonomy in both their learning process and their behavior within the academic environment. This method allows them to set achievable goals, organize their tasks, track their progress, and adjust their study techniques accordingly, leading to better and more stable academic result.

Furthermore, they stated that self-regulation promotes greater intrinsic motivation and commitment to learning. Students who develop self-regulation skills tend to set more meaningful goals and find greater satisfaction in their academic achievements, driving them to strive harder and engage more deeply with their education. This increased intrinsic motivation helps them overcome academic challenges with a more positive and persevering attitude.

Finally, they pointed out that self-regulation plays an important role in fostering the development of effective study skills. Students are able to recognize and use learning methods that suit their individual needs, allowing them to study more efficiently and effectively. This helps cultivate lasting study skills that are crucial for their continued academic success. Additionally, by improving control over their learning process, students enhance their self-confidence and self-efficacy, enabling them to face academic obstacles with greater confidence and determination.

Reading stands out as a tool that facilitates learning across all academic areas and promotes communication processes in the social realm, as illustrated in the following diagram:

Figure 2. Description of the Subcategories

In relation to educational needs, the findings highlight the importance of recognizing students as biopsychosocial individuals to design strategies that effectively support their learning. It is evident that motivation drives these needs, making it essential to create strategies that engage students, foster their interest in reading, cultivate motivation for reading, and turn them into researchers capable of discovering implicit ideas in texts, as well as developing reading skills to effectively understand the content.

Motivation becomes the central point for students to develop a genuine interest in what they read and learn, highlighting the need to implement motivational strategies. These strategies should be adapted to the type of students and the specific demands they present to achieve their participation in the educational process. Teachers need to prioritize implementing appropriate strategies to develop listening comprehension, oral expression skills, and the comprehension of information and active knowledge construction.

On the other hand, it is crucial for teachers to stay aware of the changing characteristics of today's students. This implies innovating the educational process and transforming the learning experience through relevant strategies that guide students to learn autonomously, linking academic content with technical and social problems. Consequently, the educational approach becomes proactive, facilitating the development and application of individual cognitive tools and skills for the formation of qualities, behaviors, and values.

Regarding crucial educational experiences for academic performance, it is noted that strategies focus on all factors influencing educational procedures, outlining standards, principles, and processes that shape learning paths. These strategies define how teachers present content and methods to students, ensuring that the learning process aligns with programs, execution, and evaluation of educational procedures.

Teachers use strategies to explore students' prior cognitive knowledge, foster learning, develop competencies, assess progress, and allow for non-uniform evaluation. These practices are known as instructional strategies. In this study, didactic strategies were employed to ensure learning, including a program converted into a set of procedures in the learning environment, generating various learning styles.

It is important for teachers to play a crucial role in guiding students to develop the ability to identify written expressions. Therefore, identifying students' prior knowledge becomes crucial to focus on strategies that motivate them to improve their expression through spontaneous writing, incorporating symbols and letters until achieving a complete understanding of the content.

Regarding the stages of the self-regulation model:

Teachers should start by identifying students' needs. Once they have determined what they want to achieve, it is crucial for teachers to consider the importance of motivating students and then plan the actions to be taken in a sequence of stages. This planning should be based on diagnoses that reveal the specific needs of the students, providing a basis for teachers to plan effectively. In this context, the lack of initiative in planning was highlighted as an identified limitation.

Afterward, teachers execute the planned actions and proceed to the evaluation. The assessment of these self-regulation strategies revealed that students gained a clearer understanding of their responsibility regarding learning through literacy. This structured and sequential approach allows teachers to address students' specific needs, ensuring a more effective educational process focused on stimulating self-regulation in learning

The study was fruitful in strengthening the ties within the educational community and identifying various needs in the teaching field, such as the importance of autonomy and decision-making for the creation of new knowledge, correcting errors in the reading process, the need for parental support, and attention to learning problems, as well as executing basic commands. Contrary to Robles' (2018) perspective, which holds that parental involvement is crucial for cultivating reading habits in students, the findings highlight that these habits promote clarity in understanding meanings and improved diction, aspects that facilitate the comprehension of ideas, in line with Svenbro's (1997) vision. The family emerges as a crucial factor for the development and enhancement of reading comprehension.

The study's results underscore the importance of fostering motivation and self-regulation in the educational environment of I.E. Jesús de Santa Teresa. These reflect the experiences and distinctions of the actions considered in implementing the proposed approach, centered on acquiring and implementing reading habits for comprehension and interpretation. The goal is to facilitate the connection between school experiences and the home environment, effectively promoting reading and contributing to the development of communicative skills. This approach seeks to cultivate reading habits that facilitate learning and establish meaningful relationships between school and home. Additionally, the importance of motivation for both teachers and students is highlighted, emphasizing the need to set clear objectives on how to promote reading and its real impact. In this context, it is emphasized that clear reading generates emotions, independence, and diverse thinking.

According to Pallo-Pilalumbo et al. (2024), it is important to implement self-regulation strategies to promote reading comprehension in students for several fundamental reasons. Firstly, these strategies help students develop metacognitive skills, that is, to be aware of their own mental processes during reading. By understanding how they think and learn, students can identify and correct errors in their comprehension, allowing them to improve their academic performance.

According to Borda and Gonzales (2024), self-regulation strategies promote autonomy and responsibility in learning. These strategies teach students to control and direct their own reading process, enabling them to become more independent and confident when dealing with complex and challenging texts. By developing self-regulation skills, students learn to identify their own needs and apply appropriate techniques to improve their reading comprehension, which not only strengthens their academic ability but also fosters a proactive and confident attitude toward learning in general.

Likewise, these strategies help students effectively face challenges they encounter while reading, such as lack of comprehension or lack of interest in the material. By learning to regulate their emotions and motivations during reading, students can stay committed and focused on the task, allowing them to gain more from the reading experience (Borda & Gonzales, 2024).

Herrera et al. (2024) emphasize that self-regulation strategies serve as instruments that help students effectively manage their learning process. These strategies encompass metacognitive skills such as planning, monitoring, and evaluation, which enable students to govern and direct their own learning. Planning, for example, helps them set clear goals and develop an action plan to achieve them. This allows them to organize and systematize their time and energy competently, thus improving the efficiency of their academic efforts. Similarly, monitoring enables them to keep a close track of their progress toward predefined goals. By monitoring their comprehension and performance, students can identify areas needing improvement and adapt their study techniques accordingly. Ultimately, evaluation allows them to reflect on their learning experiences and the results obtained. Reflecting on the knowledge acquired and the methods used, students can identify the most successful strategies and consider adjustments for future improvement.

Núñez-Valdés et al. (2024) argue that self-regulation plays a crucial role in students' academic progress, as those who can manage their emotions, set clear goals, and persevere in their efforts tend to excel in educational environments. The ability to control impulses and maintain focus on academic tasks allows them to optimize their study time and face difficulties with a constructive mindset. Additionally, emotional self-regulation enables individuals to cope with stress, make accurate judgments, and foster a positive and cooperative school environment.

Romero et al. (2023) argue that metacognitive self-regulation is demonstrated when students reflect on their learning trajectory, identify their competencies and limitations, and choose the most suitable study techniques. This skill enables them to evaluate their development and adapt their study approaches to improve their academic achievements. Furthermore, by promoting autonomy and responsibility among students, self-regulation allows them to make well-informed decisions about their education and take responsibility for their learning process.

Lastly, self-regulation in learning is fundamental for academic success because it helps students set clear goals, maintain motivation, control their emotions, and face challenges with resilience. Additionally, teachers play an important role in teaching and modeling self-regulated behaviors and creating a supportive environment that fosters self-regulation in the classroom.

Contribution to Scientific Knowledge: The study made a significant contribution to the educational field by focusing on the development of metacognitive skills and self-regulation strategies. By providing practical tools, it aimed to improve reading ability and promote a deeper understanding of content. This approach also fostered independence in learning and improved academic performance by allowing students to apply these skills to various contents and contexts. Furthermore, it empowered students with effective strategies to self-regulate their reading comprehension, positively impacting both word reading and deep comprehension of texts from various disciplines, benefiting their long-term academic development.

Limitations: A significant limitation was found concerning the time and financial resources available, which restricted the possibility of expanding the student sample and deepening the intervention conducted

The findings of this study highlighted the fundamental importance of the prologue of pedagogical issues in research processes as an essential vehicle for exploring the objects of study at I.E. Jesús de Santa Teresa in El Banco Magdalena. This approach advanced the description of the epistemic support of the studied phenomena, underscoring their relevance in pedagogical practice. The need to focus research on theoretical and methodological reflection was emphasized, addressing problematic contexts applicable to various practices and aiming to recognize and impart specialized knowledge in the studied areas.

The analysis of the influence of academic motivations and self-regulation in learning clarified how these variables influenced students' achievement of educational objectives. Motivation proved crucial for increasing enthusiasm and dedication towards reading, and it was necessary to identify learning techniques tailored to the specific needs of the students. The development of self-regulation strategies was recognized as essential for promoting reading habits and academic awareness, contributing not only to the development of cognitive skills and communication competencies but also stimulating language, imagination, and creativity.

Fostering self-regulation improved cognitive processes in the academic environment and had a positive impact on students' personal growth and development, providing the necessary tools to learn, be happy, and thrive in various aspects of life.

The importance of teachers achieving a level of pedagogical progress that would allow them to provide adequate solutions to the inherent problems in their practices was also highlighted, which was achieved through active research. Teachers, by participating in research activities, exhibited reflective and creative attitudes that enriched their pedagogical work. Research was a catalyst for improving educational quality and enhancing the positive impact of educators on student development.

Finally, it was emphasized that any investigative action constituted a valuable contribution to the scientific field, as it generated new contextualized theories about the object of study in question. This premise highlighted the importance of involving parents in the educational processes of their children, recommending innovative strategies to motivate them, encourage their participation in their children's educational progress, and foster the assumption of responsibilities regarding academic achievements. The need for parents to be aware of the influence they exert on their children's educational development was emphasized, and they were urged to set individual goals, thus generating a joint commitment to educational success.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors certify that they have no conflicts of interest.

Author Contributions:
Vásquez García, L. M.: Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Research, Methodology, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing.
Mora Mora, Z. A.: Conceptualization, Research, Methodology, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing.
Yomaira Pérez Bandera, Y.: Conceptualization, Research, Methodology, Validation, Visualization, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editin.
Vargas Rodríguez, A. J.: Conceptualization, Research, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing.