Effectiveness of home support program for parents: an intervention to aid primary struggling readers

Reading is essential for a child’s success in learning. Learning to read is a sequential process; each new skill builds on the mastery of the previously learned skills. Decoding creates the foundation on which all other reading skills are built. Distance learning delivery is the new normal education system and this situation is very challenging to facilitate learnings. Since the learners spend longer time at home with their parents, parents have the important key role in improving their children’s learning, specifically in reading. Distance learning delivery this new normal is truly a tough task for both parents and teachers. However, with teamwork and cooperation from the parents, learning will eventually take place.  Learners at home have a lot of time together with their parents this school year hence, this study was conducted to determine the effect of the Home Support Program for Parents in aiding the struggling readers in Filipino among selected Grade 1 pupils in a span of two months from the start of the second quarter. The goal of the training design is to equip parents of primary learners with sufficient but attainable techniques and strategies in reading that they may utilize at their respective homes. The Home Support Project for Parents of Primary Learners is organized to assist struggling readers to enhance their reading skills. Proper coaching on the different techniques and strategies in reading were presented and thus, the reading skills of pupils were anticipated to be elevated. Specifically, this study aims to answer the following questions: (1) how does the Home Support Program for Parents improve the reading skills of learners? (2) What are effective methods of increasing parent involvement in the improvement of their children’s reading skills? (3) Is there a significant relationship between parents’ knowledge and involvement in the learning development of their children? Hence, the Null Hypothesis formulated is: There is no significant relationship between the Home Support Program in the literacy improvement of the selected Grade One pupils.  The method used in this study was descriptive-correlational. This design describes and determines the correlations that exist among the variables of the study. This attempts to describe the relationship of two variables whether the relationship is perfect, very high, and high or moderate (Palmer-Calmorin, 2007). In this study, the variables were the Home Support Program (parents’ training), parents’ cooperation and the pupils’ learning performance in reading competencies respectively. The researcher gathered data which were essential for the research through the utilization of the Purposive Sampling method in which a sample was selected based on their knowledge about the study and population of Grade One pupils. The participants were selected based on the purpose of the sample and the needs of the study, hence the reading status of the targeted pupils. Ten percent (10%) of the entire population of Grade One or 75 pupils were the subjects of the study. A Pre and Post tests were utilized to obtain the data needed in the study. The tests have 20 items in Filipino, validated by the School Head and Supervisor. A proposal and training design for the parents were sent to the principal’s office for the approval. Then, a letter of invitation was sent to the parents concerned thru the class advisers.  A one-day training for the parents were organized, teaching them on the correct and proper way to teach basic reading to pupils. Then, constant monitoring from the advisers were held. Activity sheets were distributed to the parents, together with a checklist of the worksheets that they did and answer with their children. This checklist also served as a monitoring tool that they did what was agreed. The data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics to determine the effectivity of the program and to prove the null hypothesis. Measures of central tendency such as mean and percentage were used. The gathered data were subjected to statistical treatments in order to decipher the relationship of the training conducted for the parents to the learning improvement of the pupils. The mean and percentage were utilized as statistical tools for the responses. From the data which had undergone statistical treatments, it had been shown that there is a significant relationship between Home Support Program and pupils’ learning improvement in literacy. Parents are the first teachers and they have a key role in improving their children’s reading ability. In light with the findings of the research, the following recommendations were made; (1) intensify parent involvement in the learning development of the pupils; (2) continue and enhance seminar-workshops for the parents of struggling learners in higher grade levels; (2) the program should be held for a longer period of time for better score increment and higher improvement; (3) the same training is recommended to be conducted with bigger number of participants