BETWEEN ACADEMIC WRITING AND CRITICAL READING: KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING CURRENT EDUCATIONAL QUALITY.

Abstract

This article reflects on the relationship between critical reading, academic writing, and educational quality, recognizing that teaching and learning processes are closely connected to students’ social, family, and cultural realities. Based on experiences at IE Gustavo Cote Uribe in Bucaramanga, the article identifies difficulties related to textual comprehension and interpretation, argumentation, written production, school motivation, and performance in standardized assessments. These challenges cannot be understood solely in terms of students’ academic abilities; rather, they should be analyzed in relation to their life contexts, social representations, and future projects. The article also addresses the impact of the indiscriminate use of artificial intelligence in academic production, particularly when it replaces students’ autonomous construction of knowledge and writing. In response to these challenges, the text emphasizes the need to transform the teacher’s role from that of a transmitter of information into that of a facilitator, humanist, and researcher who is able to contextualize reading and writing practices. Finally, the article proposes understanding literacy as a tool for critical thinking, freedom, self-knowledge, and the construction of life projects. From this perspective, teachers should investigate their educational contexts and design meaningful strategies to strengthen communicative competencies, reduce school dropout, and contribute to higher educational quality.