Beyond the Classroom

A Parent's Journey as a Teacher of Reading

Abstract

Reading is an essential skill for students and is the foundation of learning. The parent as the child’s first teacher ensures that the child learns this skill. This study aims to explore and give meaning to the experiences of parents as teachers of reading to their children during and after the pandemic where limited face-to-face and modular distance learning modalities were employed. In this qualitative study, the lived experiences of seven parents who have children enrolled in kindergarten to grade 3 were explored. Using applied thematic analysis, four themes emerged from the interviews which describe the experiences of parents as reading teachers: when expectations and reality do not meet; the struggle to juggle multiple roles; the carrot and stick policy to motivate; and, parents are indeed teachers too. The findings revealed the difficulties and insights associated with parents' roles as teachers of reading through the themes inferred from the defined meanings. Moreover, to empower the parents to contribute significantly to their children’s literacy development, schools may provide these parents with the ‘tools’ they need to teach reading effectively. This study highlighted the importance of collaborative and practical reading intervention plans to support the existing reading programs implemented in schools.