Enablers and Barriers to Foundational Literacy and Numeracy: A Multi-Division Assessment of the National Reading Program (NRP) Intervention

This study assessed the institutional, instructional, and contextual factors influencing the implementation of the National Reading Program (NRP) across nine school divisions in Region II, Philippines. A comparative multiple-case implementation assessment was employed, involving 180 public elementary school teachers and reading coordinators selected through equal-allocation stratified random sampling, with 20 respondents from each division. Of these participants, 18 were purposively selected for semistructured interviews. Survey responses, interview accounts, and program documents were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis tests, Holm-adjusted Dunn comparisons, ordinal logistic regression, and framework-guided thematic analysis. Findings indicated significant differences in implementation consistency across divisions (H = 29.136, p < .001), with only 39.4% of respondents reporting consistent or highly consistent program delivery. Teacher preparedness (aOR = 2.15), administrative support (aOR = 1.82), and family engagement (aOR = 1.70) were positively associated with implementation consistency, whereas operational barriers demonstrated a significant negative association (aOR = 0.45). Qualitative findings identified inadequate differentiated reading materials, competing instructional responsibilities, limited parental participation, and inconsistent progress monitoring as persistent challenges. Although available records indicated improvements in reading proficiency, incomplete assessment documentation limited conclusions regarding intervention effectiveness and its relationship with numeracy development. The findings emphasized the need for sustained instructional assistance, differentiated resource allocation, stronger family participation, and standardized assessment procedures to improve the delivery and evaluation of foundational learning interventions.