SMCC Teacher Education Journal

SMCC Teacher Education Journal

ISSN Print: 2008- 0598 • ISSN Online: 2008-0601
Volume 2 • June 2020
https://dx.doi.org/10.18868/cte.02.060120.16

Whole School Approach: It’s Effect

on the Reading and Writing Skills
of Grade 7 Students of San Vicente National
High School, Philippines
ELLA MAE SILAO NAVARRA
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0095-5929
ellamae1991@gmail.com
San Vicente National High School
Butuan City, Philippines

Gunning Fog Index: 12.23 • Originality 99% • Grammar Check: 99%

Flesch Reading Ease: 50.03 • Plagiarism: 1%

ABSTRACT

The Whole School Approach promotes reading and writing through reading
schemes and exercises, writing activities, visiting libraries, and other proceedings to reach
the students’ interest and improve their learning holistically in reading and writing.
The main purpose of the study was to determine the improvement of the reading and
writing skills of the Grade 7 students of San Vicente National High School using the
whole school approach. The pretest and posttest experimental group design was used in
this study. The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI)- formula and given
text with 80 words was used to identify the improvement of reading skills of Grade 7
students in terms of word recognition and comprehension. The result shows that the
Grade 7 students were confused in recognizing words and frustrated in question analysis
and comprehension. Thus, the majority of the students belonged to the frustration level
in their reading skills. The whole school approach focused more on the students’ basic
skills rather than on higher-order thinking skills. It was recommended that teachers need
to focus and assess more on their reading skills. They must use a variety of strategies and
approaches that draw the students’ interest in learning.

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KEYWORDS

Whole school approach, reading skills, Word Recognition,

Comprehension, writing skills, Correctness, Clarity, Control,
Coherence, Content, Experimental Method, Philippines

INTRODUCTION

The Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey FLEMMS (Authority,
2008) found that 58 million of the estimated 67 million Filipinos 10-64 years old are
functionally literate. This means that an estimated 9 million Filipinos 10 to 64 years
old are not functionally literate; 4 million are unable to read and write. The functional
literacy rate rose to 86.4% from 84.1 in 2003. Nevertheless, there is only a slow increase
in the functional literacy of the Filipinos. The functional literacy rate among females
(88.7%) is higher than among males (84.2%).
.The underdeveloped skills in reading and writing may also explain the low
retention and completion rates. Of the 100 children who enroll in Grade 1,66% would
finish Grade 6, 58% would enroll in First Year high school;43% would finish high
school;23% would enroll in college;14% would finish college. The lack of academic
preparation may be the major reason for college failure (Authority, 2008).
.Furthermore, Garcia (2009) stressed that there are a total of 15 million illiterate
Filipinos; 11 million are suffering from functional illiteracy, and four million are suffering
from no basic literacy skills. The alarming increase in number urged the government
to focus more resources on addressing the issue by strengthening and amplifying the
students’ educational needs, especially in improving reading and writing skills.
.Moreover, the researcher found out from the reading coordinator of San Vicente
National High School that most first-year students are in frustration level in terms of
their reading profile and terms of their writing, and students are weak. They find a hard
time to write paragraphs and essays. They usually get mistakes in the grammar structure
and paragraph coherence. According to Tangpermpoon (2008), writing is the most
difficult skill because it requires writers to have many words and syntactic knowledge
and the principle of organization in language to produce good writing.
The researcher finds a constraint and aims to study the improvement of reading and
writing skills and to present aid to let the students overcome this adversity in reading
and writing. Thus, the researcher finds the Whole School Approach as an avenue that
caters and deals with a student’s difficulties in reading and writing.
The Whole School Approach enables teachers and students to build relationships,
solve problems, resolve conflict, and address harm more effectively. The approach is
based on developing positive relationships through building respect and skills in
listening, empathy, self-awareness, and honesty (Sarco, 2007).

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Through Whole School Approach, reading is not simply the decoding of black
marks on the page. Still, it involves the ability to read with understanding a wide range
of different texts, including fiction, non-fiction, real-world texts such as labels, captions,
lists, and environmental print. Competence in reading is the key to independent
learning, and therefore the teaching of reading should be given a high priority. Success
in reading has a direct effect on progress in all areas of the curriculum and is crucial in
developing children’s self-esteem, confidence, and motivation (Scott, 2013).
.A variety of approaches and strategies are utilized for the improvement of the basic
skills of the students, yet some of them failed to assess the pace of learning of the
students and what are the basics. Whole School Approach aims to communicate to
every subject teacher that the necessary skills like reading and writing are not only the
sole task of an English teacher. The collaboration and coordination of every subject
teacher in assessing students’ difficulties and weaknesses are among the realizations that
an educator may acquire in applying the Whole School Approach.
.Moving forward for improvement, reading, and writing skills is vital in our daily
communication and comprehension. Whole School Approach can manage to improve
reading and writing skills if a teacher apprehends its usage and significance. Through the
Whole School approach, the researcher will prove that this approach, which involves all
teachers in school, can improve reading and writing skills.

FRAMEWORK

This study was premised on the concept that the Whole School Approach affects the
improvement of the reading and writing skills of the Grade 7 students of San Vicente
National High School. This idea was conceived from the study of McConachie et al.
(2006) about Task, Text, and Talk Literacy for All Subjects. This concept presented the
Whole School Approach’s view that each subject teacher involved in the improvement
of the students’ literacy skills. The constructive collaboration must be practiced by the
teachers for the development of the students’ learning progress (Keith with Arnold,
2011)
.The Whole School Approach was anchored on the five (5) principles of
Discipleteachers’ binary Literacy: Literacy across Subjects (McC2006). The first principle
stated that “knowledge and thinking must go hand in hand.” To develop complex
knowledge in any discipline, students need opportunities to read, reason, investigate,
speak, and write about the overarching concepts within that discipline. Because of time
constraints and coverage concerns, many teachers understandably chose to teach either
content or process instead of marrying the two. But to build students’ literacy in a
specific disciple, instruction must do both at once.
.The second principle emphasized that “learning is apprenticeshipciplinary literacy
classrooms, students acted as historians, mathematicians, scientists, readers, and writers

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as they engaged with subject-matter tasks, texts, and talk that apprentice them into each
discipline’s ways of working.
.The third principle specified that “teachers mentor students.” In disciplinary
literacy classrooms, teachers designed lessons that explicit the discipline-centered
literacy habits that scaffold students’ collective content learning and enable them to
function independently in the wider disciplinary community.
.The fourth principle stipulated that “instruction and assessment drive each other.”
To make disciplinary literacy work, teachers conducted an ongoing formative assessment
of each student’s understanding, skills, and interests using multiple sources of data (such
as conferences, discussions, quick-writes, and quizzes) to inform instruction and guide
students to deeper levels of understanding.
.The fifth principle enlightened that the “classroom culture socializes intelligence.
“In classrooms striving for disciplinary literacy, teachers treated students as capable
thinkers, readers, and writers who expect to take risks, solve problems, and reflect on
their learning.
.With the teachers’ collaboration in the improvement of reading and writing skills,
the following aspects were affected by its enhancement in reading skills. Students must
recognize the words and understand its meaning, whereas, in writing, students must
construct paragraphs with correct grammar structure, coherence of sentences, authentic
content, and appropriate word usage.
.Paige (2011) cited that reading was a multifaceted process involving word
recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Learn how readers integrate
these facets to make meaning from print. Reading was making meaning from print. It
required to identify the words in print – a process called word recognition, construct an
understanding from them – a process called comprehension and coordinate identifying
words and making meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate – an achievement
called fluency. Reading was the motivated and fluent coordination of word recognition
and comprehension.
.On the other hand, the writing was a means of communicating ideas and
information. The responsibility reclined on the teacher’s shoulders to enhance their
students’ abilities to express themselves effectively. To accomplish an effective write-
up, a writer develops his writing skills with the five C’s: correctness, clarity, control,
coherence, and content.
.Manser (2009) added that correctness referred to proper grammar, spelling, and
punctuation — observance of established conventions. Here we were concerned with
clear-cut matters of right and wrong. These were sometimes referred to as the “basics”
or the “fundamentals.” Thus, correctness involved not just grammatical rules but also
proper punctuation and the use of correct words.

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OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to determine the effects of the Whole School Approach on the
improvement of the reading skills based on word recognition and comprehension and
writing skills in terms of correctness, clarity, control, coherence, and content of the
Grade-7 students of San Vicente National High School during the school year 2012-
2013.

METHODOLOGY

This study used a pretest and posttest experimental group design of research because
it targets to determine the effect of the Whole School Approach on the improvement
of reading and writing skill of Grade-7 students of San Vicente National High
School - Butuan City. The pretest and posttest experimental group design involved
an experimental group. The experimental group refers to the group of students taught
using the Whole School Approach, while the control group refers to the students with
the traditional approach of teaching.
.Before the experimental period, the researcher conducted a seminar on the subject
teachers of Grade 7 students. The seminar tackled the whole school approach and
different reading and writing strategies.
.The lesson plan of the Grade 7 subject teachers who were involved in the experiment
was checked by the English coordinator and the school principal. The Whole School
Approach was included in the first part of the teaching procedure of the subject teachers.
Teachers’ reading and writing strategies anchored to whole-school approach were the
following: FWAW (Five Words A Week) which was done in the entire experimental
period, Spelling Test which was done 10 minutes every Monday to the experimental
group; DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) which was done 15 minutes every Tuesday;
Vocabulary Enhancers Activity which was done 10 minutes every Wednesday; writing
paragraphs or paraphrasing which was done 15 minutes every Thursday, and Student
Team Reading and Writing as their collaborative learning activities. Teachers taught the
same topic both in the experimental and control group but in different approaches: The
whole school approach and traditional approach.
.The researcher conducted a weekly interview, subject topics monitoring for the
teacher’s strategy, and class observation to avoid possible effects of the teacher factor in
the learners’ learning process, which may affect the result of the study. The main topic in
reading and writing was varied depending on the target of each subject teachers.
.The reading coordinator was asked to observe the researcher at least two times a
week during the experimental period.
After the experimental period, the same test was administered to both groups to
determine whether there is a significant difference in the students’ improvement in
reading and writing skills. The improvement of reading and writing skills was tested

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by the materials given. The result of the mean of test scores was used to describe the
improvement of the reading and writing skills of the students. Furthermore, the T-test
employed to test the significant improvement of the reading and writing skills of the
students applied with different approaches at 0.05 level of significance.
.This study utilized the standard instruments for assessing the reading and writing
skills of the students. In Reading, the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI)
was used to assess students’ reading skills profiles. The scale percentages of the students’
level were as follows: 100-96% in word recognition and 100-95% in comprehension
for independent level; 95-91% in word recognition and 94-75% in comprehension
for instructional level and 90% -below in word comprehension and 74%- below in
comprehension for frustration level.
.On the other hand in writing, a constructed-response paragraph was used and the
holistic rubric for evaluating student writing with 5’c: focus, development, organization,
grammar and mechanics, and tone, style and audience (Boye, 2007) was used to check
the essay writing of the Grade 7 students. The descriptive ratings were the following:
5.0-4.1 for excellent; 4.0-3.1 for very good; 3.0-2.1 for adequate; 2.0-1.1 for weak and
1.0-below for very poor.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1: Results of Pretest of Grade 7 Students in Reading Skills

Approaches Skills Pretest Mean Scores % Std Description
Whole School Word Recognition 72.27 90.33 4.25 Frustration
Approach
Comprehension 3.090 61.8 0.793 Frustration
Traditional Word Recognition 70.96 88.7 5.10 Frustration
Approach
Comprehension 3.03 60.6 1.17 Frustration

Table 1 indicates the pre-test results of Grade 7 students in reading skills. In word
recognition skills, the whole school approach and traditional group belonged to the
frustration level. In the comprehension skills, the students were still at the frustration
level. Thus, both in the whole school approach and the traditional group belonged
in frustration level. Poor reading skill is manifested with poor comprehension, wrong
pronunciation, and others. If no proper intervention is administered early, it could
affect the academic, social, and psychological development of a learner (Cayubit, 2012).

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Table 2: Results of Pretest of Grade 7 Students in Writing Skills

Pretest Mean
Approaches Skills Std Description
Scores
Whole School Correctness 1.614 0.707 Weak
Approach Clarity 2.317 0.787 Adequate
Control 1.792 0.739 Weak
Coherence 1.780 0.760 Weak
Content 2.050 0.779 Weak
Traditional Correctness 1.582 0.591 Weak
Approach Clarity 2.165 0.791 Adequate
Control 1.781 0.622 Weak
Coherence 1.835 0.791 Weak
Content 2.038 0.775 Weak

Table 2 presents the pretest of the Grade 7 students in writing based on the 5 criteria:
correctness, clarity control, coherence, and content. In clarity, the Grade 7 students were
adequate, while incorrectness, control, coherence, and content, the students belonged
to a weak level. Grade 7 students, both in the whole school approach and traditional
approach, were defined as adequate in clarity but weak in terms of control, coherence,
correctness, and content skills. Hence, Grade 7 students were low- achieving in writing.
The term “low-achieving writers” is used to refer to students whose writing skills are
not adequate to meet classroom demands. Some of these low-achieving writers have
been identified as having learning disabilities; others are the “silent majority” who lack
writing proficiency but do not receive additional help (Graham & Perin, 2007).

Table 3: Results of Posttest of Grade 7 Students in Reading Skills

Pretest Posttest
Approaches Skills Mean Description Mean Description
Scores (%) Scores (%)
Whole School Word Recognition 90.33 Frustration 93.66 Instructional
Approach
Comprehension 61.8 Frustration 68.1 Frustration

Traditional Word Recognition 88.7 Frustration 90.34 Frustration

Approach Comprehension 60.6 Frustration 61.8 Frustration

Table 3 reflects the comparison of pretest and posttest percentage scores of the
Grade 7 students in their reading skills, as for the application of whole school approach
in word recognition skills, the Grade 7 student’s frustration level transformed into
instructional level while in the traditional approach the frustration level of the students

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remained still in frustration level. Therefore, it can be gleaned that the whole school
approach improved the word recognition skills of Grade 7 students.
As to the whole school approach applied in comprehension skills, there was no
improvement in the students’ level. It remained at the frustration level, like in the
traditional approach. The Whole school approach improved only the basic identifying
skills of the students, and it is weak in improving the lifelong comprehension of the
students. Students with poor reading comprehension skills lack adequate ability to
truly understand the many facets of what they are reading. Processing the information
presented in the text is hard for them (Woolley, 2011).

Table 4: Results of Posttest of Grade 7 Students in Writing Skills

Approaches Skills Pretest Mean Description Posttest Mean Description
Scores Scores
Whole School Correctness 1.614 Weak 2.515 Adequate
Approach Clarity 2.317 Adequate 3.051 Very good
Control 1.792 Weak 2.752 Adequate
Coherence 1.780 Weak 2.594 Adequate
Content 2.050 Weak 2.733 Adequate
Traditional Correctness 1.582 Weak 1.734 Weak
Clarity 2.165 Adequate 2.329 Adequate
Control 1.781 Weak 1.811 Weak
Coherence 1.835 Weak 1.975 Weak
Content 2.038 Weak 2.048 Weak

Table 4 reveals the results of the posttest of Grade 7 students and its difference from
the pretest. In the Whole School Approach, there was a positive improvement in their
writing skills based on the criteria. The correctness, control, coherence, and content
changed to adequate level from weak, and clarity transformed from adequate to very
good writing. It reflected that the Grade 7 students were at a satisfactory level of writing.
However, in the Traditional Approach, the student’s level still remained weak.

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Table 5. Comparison of Grade 7 Students’ Scores in Reading Skills Using t-test

Approaches Skills Pretest Post- Mean t-stat p-value Decision
Mean test Gain
Scores Mean Scores
(%) Scores
(%)
Whole Word Recognition 90.33 93.66 2.67 5.94 0.000 Reject Ho
School Ap-
proach Comprehension 61.8 68.1 0.315 2.50 0.013 Reject Ho

Traditional Word Recognition 88.7 90.34 1.31 1.86 0.065 Accept Ho

Approach
Comprehension 60.6 61.8 0.06 0.40 0.692 Accept Ho

Table 5 shows the compared results of the reading skills of Grade 7 students applied
by the Whole School Approach and Traditional Approach. The result of reading skills
applied with the Whole School Approach, the null hypothesis in word recognition,
and comprehension was rejected. It was because of the collaboration of subject teachers
using FWAW (Five Words A Week) in the entire experimental period, Spelling Test
- 10 minutes every Monday; DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) -15 minutes every
Tuesday; Vocabulary Enhancers Activity such as word puzzle, text twist, etc. -10 minutes
every Wednesday; writing paragraphs or paraphrasing - 15 minutes every Thursday,
and Student Team Reading and Writing as their collaborative learning activities.
There is a significant improvement in the word recognition skills of Grade 7 students.
Whole School Approach involves all teachers in teaching the language. The teachers
used reading and writing activities to make sure students are functionally literate as
they will step higher on the educational ladder. A consistent school-wide approach is
the key aspect of teaching and learning to make a really great impact on the students’
improvement (Inman, 2008).
Meanwhile, in the traditional approach, the null hypothesis was accepted. There
is no significant improvement in the reading and writing skills of the students. The
null hypothesis is accepted or rejected lies in the standard deviation of the scores of the
student.

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Table 6. Comparison of Grade 7 Students’ Scores in Writing Skills Using t-test

Approaches Skills Pretest Posttest Mean Gain t-stat p-value Decision
Mean Mean Scores/
Scores Scores Difference
Whole Correctness 1.614 2.515 0.901 8.16 0.000 Reject Ho
School Ap- Clarity 2.317 2.951 0.634 5.47 0.000 Reject Ho
proach
Control 1.792 2.752 0.960 9.23 0.000 Reject Ho
Coherence 1.780 2.594 0.814 7.85 0.000 Reject Ho
Content 2.050 2.733 0.683 6.06 0.000 Reject Ho
Traditional Correctness 1.582 1.734 0.152 1.40 0.164 Accept Ho
Clarity 2.165 2.329 0.164 1.36 0.176 Accept Ho
Control 1.781 1.811 0.418 1.11 0.286 Accept Ho
Coherence 1.835 1.975 0.14 1.11 0.286 Accept Ho
Content 2.038 2.048 0.10 1.58 0.116 Accept Ho

Table 6 illustrates the compared results of the writing skills of Grade 7 students
applied by the two approaches. In the Whole School Approach, the null hypothesis
was rejected. Thus, there is a significant improvement in the writing skills of Grade
7 students applied by the Whole School Approach. Yet, in the Traditional Approach,
it indicated that the p-value is lesser than 0.05, and its decision is to accept the null
hypothesis, which there was no significant difference in the writing skills of Grade 7
students. It was because the students were taught in a traditional way such as lecture
method, teacher’s demonstration, teacher’s talk or chalk talk, and other teacher-centered
activity that the students were the passive audience.
Literacy education for the students must be improved, so more children in the
world get better chances to learn and unlearn. We must focus on improving the literacy
skills of the learners through reading by writing (AkeGronlund, 2013).
As an outcome of the data gathering and result interpretation, it can be concluded
that the Whole School Approach had improved the reading skills and writing skills
of Grade 7 students of San Vicente National High School. Moreover, Whole School
Approach and Traditional approach, combined with the different styles and a strategy
applied by the teacher, affects students’ skills in reading and writing in their own pace
of learning. In general, a whole school approach is an effective approach than the
traditional approach in teaching.

CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing findings, the conclusions are as follows: The Grade 7
students were confused in recognizing words and frustrated in question analysis and
comprehension. Thus, the majority of the students belonged to the frustration level in

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their reading skills. The whole school approach was focused more on the basic skills of
the students rather than on higher-order thinking skills. In writing skills, the majority
of the students can express their thought with clarity and less with control, coherence,
content, and correctness. The majority of the Grade 7 students needed to practice
their writing skills to improve its structure and grammar. Through the whole school
approach, students’ writing skills develop and reached a satisfactory level. Teacher’s
strategies anchored in the Whole School Approach improved the writing skills and
reading skills of Grade 7 students. The whole School approach is effective in enhancing
the literacy skills of the students. Whole School Approach is an effective approach than
the traditional approach in teaching.

RECOMMENDATION

On the basis of the foregoing findings and conclusions, the following

recommendations are presented: Since the students were frustrated and confused in
reading, teachers need to focus and assess more in their reading skills. They must use a
variety of strategies and approaches that draw the students’ interest in learning. As for
the weak writing skills of students, teachers must essentially engage them in different
writing activities and give them drills and practices in writing paragraphs and essays.
Students must be exposed to an environment that is fun to read and expressively-
free to write. Teachers must encourage them to go to the library to read and write a
spelling bee contest, reading sessions, and other activities that enhance their basic skills.
School administrators must check teachers’ teaching approach and strategy since it also
affects the learning process of the students. They must conduct teacher assessments
based on their respective subject areas. Teachers must coordinate and collaborate with
the other subject teachers to identify each student’s weaknesses and in what approach
they can assist in improving or surpass their weaknesses. Since Whole School Approach
can improve the students’ writing skills and students’ word recognition skills, school
administrators, as well as teachers, must utilize the approach for the improvement of
the basic skills of the students. For further research, the following are recommended:
Strategies and approaches in enhancing the reading skills of students; Relationship
of Teachers’ Teaching Strategy and Students’ Learning Pace; Factors Affecting the
Development of the Reading and Writing Skills of the Students and Improvement of
Student’s Vocabulary and Strengthening Spelling Test.

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