Exploring the Early Literacy Practices and Experiences of Mothers

Abstract

Mothers play a vital function in fostering the early learning opportunities of children, and early learning opportunities are considered to be strong and independent predictors of future academic success. Very few studies, however, have looked into the practices and experiences of mothers in early literacy instruction. Anchored in family literacy theory, emergent literacy theory, and early literacy theory, this qualitative study used transcendental phenomenological design to explore the early literacy practices and experiences of 8 mothers in the southernmost part of Eastern Samar as inputs for future educational intervention. Employing Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen’s method of analysis, the in-depth interviews revealed 4 themes: mother’s use of strategies, the desire to learn and the need for intervention, goalsetting during early literacy instruction, and outcomes of early literacy instruction. The study concluded that mothers see the significance of early literacy instruction so they struggle to improve the skill. However, since their expertise is so limited, there is a need for educational institutions to help them.