Views on Empowering Parents to Support their Children with Literacy Skills

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of teachers and parents on strategies for empowering parents to effectively support their children with literacy skills. Literature sketches a bleak picture of the poor literacy performance of South African primary school learners. This qualitative study utilising a case study design, was conducted at two primary schools in the Mangaung district of Bloemfontein's Free State Department of Education (FSDOE). The participants were selected through the purposive sampling method and data were collected through interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The data was presented and analysed within themes aligned with the literature, conceptual framework and the objectives of the study. The findings disclosed that parental support regarding literacy is insufficient and that both teachers and parents are experiencing immense challenges with poor literacy skills among learners. The findings brought forth some noteworthy suggestions for empowering parents to support their children with the improvement of literacy skills. The main conclusion derived from the study is the need for a greater focus on strategies to involve parents in literacy improvement. It is recommended that future research focus on strategies to enhance parental empowerment for improved support to their children with literacy skills.