Maximizing Parents' Involvement in Improving the Reading Skills of Grade One Pupils in the Inicbulan Elementary School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Reading problems repeats over and over again. Lots of researches were done to address the problem because reading as one of the four fundamental skills should be given priority. From time to time people have wondered why reading is important. A child's reading skills are important to their success in school as they will allow them to access the breadth of the curriculum and improve their communication and language skills. In addition, reading can be a fun and imaginative time for children, which opens doors to all kinds of new worlds for them. With this regard, parents were encouraged to participate in school reading activities. Learning to read is about listening and understanding as well as working out what is printed on the page. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a wide range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read. It is important for them to understand how stories work too. Even if children do not understand every word, they will hear new sounds, words, and phrases which they can then try out, copying what they have heard.

METHODS

Parental involvement in their child's literacy practices is a more powerful force than other family background variables, such as social class, family size and level of parental education (Flouri & Buchanan, 2004), while reading enjoyment is more important for children's educational success than their family's socio-economic status. Some suggested activities were also cited to support the Adopt a Reader Program in improving the reading skill.

RESULTS

This research paper focuses on maximizing parents' participation in improving the reading ability of Grade one pupils in Inicbulan Elementary School. Throughout data collected and as reflected in the Phil-IRI in the three consecutive years, it was found that most pupils struggle in reading.

DISCUSSIONS

Thus, this study attempted to improve the reading skills of Grade 1 pupils and at the same time maximize the involvement of parents. The findings revealed that the common factors that hinder parents' involvement are household chores like preparing for their kids in going to school, cooking, cleaning the house, and washing clothes, others have younger children to take care of, work to support the basic needs of their family and lack of knowledge in teaching reading.