Enhancement of Reading Skills of Preschool Children through Parental Involvement in Family Literacy Program

Families are the first teachers of students, and they remain essential to the learning skill throughout their child’s school period. Family literacy means educative support of literacy towards parents and siblings. Family literacy has become an important topic for international educational discourse. Recognizing the pivotal role parents play in shaping early learning experiences, this paper presents the findings of family literacy reading program conducted in Pakistan on 15 families, each comprising at least one parent and preschool-aged children. Experimental research was conducted which involved two weeks’ intervention during which parents received structured training in reading skills across three subjects English literacy, Urdu literacy, and Mathematics-related numeracy. Intervention was given in terms of family literacy reading program which was culturally relevant and applicable within the home environment. Pretest and posttest as part of reading intervention were developed and administered to assess modifications in parents’ attitudes and practices associated with reading, as well as to observe literacy engagement of their children. Comparison between pre and posttest was made, and paired sample t-test results confirmed a statistically significant difference between scores of pre & post-interventions which indicated significant positive change in reading skills thus proving family literacy reading program. This research recommended the development and administration of diverse types of family literacy programs at local and broader levels to improve the foundational learning of children contributing to foster lifelong learning cultures within communities.