Poverty in Foundational Literacy: An Analysis of Teachers' Insights from Indian Schools

Basic literacy is fundamental to the intellectual and learning abilities of children. Although there is an increased enrolment in schools in India, several students do not attain the basics of reading and writing in the early years of schooling. This paper explores foundational literacy poverty in an ecological perspective based on the teacher interviewees of the Indian primary schools. A mixed-methods research design was deployed, whereby a survey of 150 primary school teachers in government schools was used. The SPSS statistical methods, such as descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression analysis, were used to analyse quantitative data. Findings showed that there were significant correlations between classroom and socioeconomic factors and literacy. The regression analysis revealed that parental support (b =.40, p <.001), teacher training (b =.35, p <.001), and school resources (b =.28, p =.002) were significant positive predictors of literacy development, and class size (b = -.31, p =.001) and language barriers (b = -.22, p =.004) had negative effects on literacy outcomes. The regression model accounted 52 per cent of the variance in foundational literacy outcomes (R 2 =.52, F (5,144) =31.02, p =.001). Results indicate the ecological character of literacy development, which focuses on the relationship between school conditions, teacher readiness, family support, and language conditions. The research recommends enhancing teacher professional development, bettering classroom environments, and enhancing parental involvement in the education of Indian schools as a way of remedying foundational literacy poverty in Indian schools.