Parental Engagement Approaches on Literacy Skills Development in Tanzanian Primary Schools

Abstract

This study explored approaches employed by parents in developing primary school children's literacy skills in Tanzania. The study employed qualitative case study design. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were the methods used to collect the data.  Purposive sampling was used to select 44 participants for the study. Thematic analysis through NVivo software-12 was used to analyse the data. Findings revealed that parents in high-performing schools were highly engaged in their children's literacy development through regular parent-teacher communication, parent-teacher trust and parent-teacher cooperation. However, parents in low-performing schools were less engaged due to a lack of awareness about children's literacy skills development and hectic schedules on socio-economic activities. The study recommends that teachers should encourage parents to engage in developing literacy skills for their children due to its potential merits to the children’s educational achievements in current and future endeavours.

Keywords: Parents; Parental engagement; Primary Schools; Pupils; Literacy skills.

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/13-7-03

Publication date: April 30^th 2023