Teaching of Reading in the Midst of Uncertainties: The Narrative of Elementary School Teachers in Digos City

Abstract

This descriptive-phenomenological study divulged the context of teaching reading during the health crisis brought by COVID-19 among elementary pupils. This study involved ten (10) informants which, composed of one (1) full- time faculty of Rizal Central Elementary School (RCES), two (2) teaching the English subjects, and three (3) employed in the institution since the beginning of the pandemic. Through purposive sampling, ten (10) teachers qualified from the inclusion criteria set were approached to request their voluntary involvement as participants through focus-group interviews. Hence, Colaizzi’s Data Analysis Approach was also employed in this study. Results indicated that Elementary teachers have a variety of experiences in teaching reading to their students with some difficulties and challenges but still have a positive outlook on the students. The study’s results also revealed that the teacher cope up with those challenges by having constant follow-ups with their parents reading progress. The different pedagogical techniques in promoting students’ reading were evident. However, the appropriate pedagogical techniques in teaching reading to students should be considered at all times. Hence, the result of the study also revealed that teachers use PHIL IRI to categorize the students reading progress.