This manuscript describes a reading-strategy program that has been implemented in the regular lesson of the 5 th to 8 th grade classes by the teachers and aimed to improve the reading comprehension and competence of students with special educational needs (SEN) and learning disabilities (LD). The main question of this work was whether it is possible that the three aspects, which were found to be the most successful interventional components in a literature review - strategy implementation, self-regulation and explicit instruction - can be combined in a long-duration program; in order for it to be accepted and evaluated by the teachers and converted efficiently by the students in the regular classroom. It was also equally important that all participating students would benefit from the reading-strategy program regardless of their achievement in learning preconditions (IQ, vocabulary knowledge, decoding speed) or their language background. The aim of the program was to enhance all of the participating students’ (with special educational needs and learning disabilities) reading comprehension, reading-strategy knowledge, and reading self-efficacy in the short and in the long run. 268 students with special educational needs (SEN) took part in the study and half of them received the program, which consisted of 29 lessons and was implemented by remedial and regular teachers in fourteen of the twenty-seven classes. Thirteen classes served as control classes and received a traditional reading comprehension instruction. Additionally, the data of 73 students with exclusively learning disabilities (LD) were taken for further analysis, in order to find out if students with learning disabilities also benefit from the program. Significant gains in favour of the treatment group were observed on the reading comprehension, reading-strategy knowledge and reading self-efficacy measurements. Results demonstrated not only immediate positive effects but also gains in the long-term. The outcome shows the positive influence of the reading strategy instruction on students with special educational needs and on the sub-sample of students with learning disabilities as opposed to that of traditional teaching. The students in the treatment group realized that through a well-planned and strategic procedure they can be taught to deal successfully with texts. Furthermore, students who undertook the program could name more reading strategies after the treatment than their untrained peers and had increased their self-concept regarding reading in the long term. Results also demonstrated that the program is appropriate and applicable to pupils with different learning and academical conditions. All students benefited from the program regardless of their performance in the preconditions for reading competence such as IQ, vocabulary knowledge, and decoding speed or their language background. The implementation of a reading-strategy program, based on the explicit teaching of reading and self-regulation strategies in the regular lesson, has proven to be effective. It has been established to be adaptable to the school reality, as well as applicable and practicable for the teachers.weiterlesen