Re-thinking parental involvement in the use of home language to teach reading.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore the influence of parental involvement in the teaching of reading to first language learners in Sepedi at the Foundation Phase. An exploratory case study design of the qualitative approach was employed in this research. Participants were purposively selected from the four public schools in a rural Mpumalanga Province, where Sepedi is the language of teaching and learning. Four school principals and 8 teachers (two from each school) were considered, giving a total of twelve participants in the study. Face-toface individual interviews were conducted with the school principals while focus group discussions were administered with two groups of four teachers to gather data. The collected data was subjected to the thematic approach to facilitate interpretation as well accord it meaning. The study established that some parents are not adequately oriented on the precise roles they should execute in assisting their children to master reading skills and the conspicuous absence of library services in communities. It is recommended that the Development of Education should schedule workshops, seminars, and training sessions and develop a reading manual to appraise parents on meaningful participation in the reading progress of their children as well as mobilise stakeholders to establish community libraries to increase access to books by most families.