Parental Involvement and Early Literacy Development: A Needs Assessment and Guidebook Development for Kindergarten Parents in a Private School Setting

Abstract This paper has examined parental involvement in the early literacy acquisition of kindergarten learners enrolled at Christian Faith Montessori in Aduas Centro, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Based on the simplified version of the ADDIE Model, the proposed research design was a needs-assessment research design that surveyed 34 randomly selected parents or guardians in order to find out: (1) what are the barriers to parents and guardians to understand their roles in the literacy development of the children, (2) what is the impact of gadgets on the development of literacy of children and (3) how prepared parents and guardians are to support the early acquisition of literacy skills. The quantitative data collected using a four-point Likert-scale tool were measured by using the mean method and open-ended data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results showed that the work-related fatigue of parents necessitates, passive dependence on the teachers, and limited time of engagement are major hindrances to active participation. The home-based use of gadgets was also discovered to both be bonding and may negatively affect the family in relation to parental mediation. Most of the participants stated that they wished to learn practical strategies and reference material to help their children to be literate at their homes. Based on these results, a ten-page parent-targeted guidebook was created that captured six early literacy areas that include print motivation, print awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, phonological awareness and narrative skills. The research suggests that the distribution of the guidebook to a wider audience of the institutions addressing comparable parenting issues and communities with the insufficient access to educational support resources be extended.