CHERRY M.

PORTELO AUGUST 10, 2019

MRS. MYRNA C. CALMA MAED

Title: Impact of Parent’s Socioeconomic status on Parental

Involvement at home: Basis for the Reading Development and
Academic Performance of Bagong Silang Elementary School

Background of the study

Twenty minutes a day; you have the time, And so do they.

Read while the laundry is in the machine, read while dinner cooks,

Tuck a child in the crook of your arm and reach for the library books.

Hide the remote, let the computer games cool, For one day your child will be off to school.

Make it fun! You have the choice.

Let them hear their first tales, in the sound of your voice. Reading in the morning, reading

over noon, read by the light of Goodnight moon.

Turn the pages together, sitting as close as you’ll fit,

‘Till a small voice beside you says,

“Hey don’t quit!”

Author: Unknown

This poem provides a vivid scenario of the engagement that parents and their young children

should develop in their home, as reading is a fundamental life skill that children need to

completely develop in order to be successful. One must consider the role that the home literacy

environment plays in the development of children’s reading related skills as it is the primary
learning environment for children prior to formal schooling. The home literacy environment

includes the experiences, attitudes and materials related to literacy that a child experiences and

interacts with at home. (Lonigan & Whitehurst, 1998, Roberts, Jurgens & Burchiral, 2005) It

is widely believed that the family structure and parent’s socioeconomic status has a relatively

strong impact on parental involvement compared to other variables. However, there is a

question as to how far the strength of the parent’s socioeconomic status could inspire a child

progress in their reading development. In a mountaintop area of Bagong Silang Elementary

School, only a little attention has been given to the issue of parental involvement in education.

In addition, the lack of parental involvement, reading materials and support all contribute to

learner’s lack of basic early reading skills. There is evidence that one of the factors influencing

poor reading performance is the lack of parental involvement. Rose’s (2004) study that was

conducted with indigenous Australian children shows that learners that lacked parental

involvement performed poorly in reading. Thus, parental involvement in the development and

encouragement of reading from a young age is crucial as it assists children in becoming

successful and competent readers at school and in society. Parental involvement has shown a

positive relationship with children’s academic achievement (Barnard, 2004; Bower, 2011;

Desimone, 1999; Hill & Craft, 2003; Hill & Taylor, 2004; Zellman & Waterman, 1998).

Consequently, researchers have suggested that parental involvement can be used as a means to

decrease achievement gaps across different groups of students (Bower, 2011; Jeynes, 2011;

Zellman & Waterman, 1998). As a result, it is essential for researchers to examine the reasons

behind the different stages of parental involvement so as to inform school policy reformers

about all possible approaches of increasing parental involvement and, subsequently, improving

student achievement and lessening achievement gaps.

Research on parental involvement revealed additional advantages beyond the benefits of

improving student achievement at school (Bower, 2011). For example, parental involvement
has been associated with increasing social capital and providing additional resources to

students, which increases their academic achievement (Bower, 2011; Lee & Bowen, 2006).

Many educational reform plans around the world are devising academic programs and curricula

that are focused on encouraging parental involvement and improving student achievement in

school (Al Jabery & Zumberg, 2008; Fayez, Sabah, & Rudwan, 2011). Thus, it is essential to

understand all factors that may influence parents’ involvement in their children’s education

Again, Rose’s (2004) research fund that parents who were highly literate, scaffold their

children’s literacy development before they begin school, while children who did not receive

this support were instantaneously disadvantaged and were unable to cope in terms of

succeeding in their reading development. Similarly, there are learners in Bagong Silang

Elementary School who read in Tagalog, which in many cases in English language which they

are only just beginning to learn. Research suggests that children from low-income families do

not perform as well academically as those who come from more advantaged backgrounds (e.g.

Battle, 2002; Bradley & Corwyn, 2002) This has a negative impact on their reading

performance, as many pupils do not have the support at home or materials that can positively

influence their reading performance. Therefore, it is important that parents – or others who are

connected to the home environment, such as older siblings, if the parents cannot read – assist

in developing their children’s reading skills and abilities by encouraging reading at home. This

should be done using different methods and techniques to engage their children in reading as

well as providing support and guidance in order for them to become successful readers.

Furthermore, family literacy, as a complement to school literacy, plays an important role in the

development of early literacy. Hammack et al. (2012) states that young children benefit when

their teachers and families engage, unite and participate with each other in ways that assist

them to learn, grow and feel confident. “Students learn more and succeed at higher levels when

home, school, and community work together to support student’s learning and development”.
(Epstein & Sanders, 2006, p. 87). Therefore, it is important that teachers and families engage

in ways that develop a positive link between home and school to develop learner’s early reading

skills.

This study is undertaking to highlight the impact of parental involvement that may lead to the

children’s reading development of Bagong Silang elementary school. The findings of this study

may propose support for future reform efforts to enhance parental involvement both at home

and at school. The process of understanding reasons for why parents desire to be involved in

their children’s education is crucial when developing methods to prevail parents to show more

involvement in their children’s education. Therefore, this study investigates the relationships

among family structure and parental involvement and parent’s socioeconomic status, as well

as pupil’s reading development.