Home⇛Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives⇛vol. 2 no. 11 (2024)

A Service Learning Program Enhancing Learners’ Early Literacy and Pre-Service Teachers’ 21st-Century Skills

Jeira Rose R. Mateo | Ma. Ronarine A. Monton | Lorrea Rubi D. Quintos | Alvic Torres | Jennifer Bangi

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Service Learning Program(SLP) is encouraged in all courses in the University of Saint Louis as a strategy in the teaching and learning process. In response to this, the Teacher-Education department developed a structured SLP named Project TEACHER (Tutorial for Engagement, Advancement, and Collaboration towards Holistic Educational Reform), which caters primarily to the needs of daycare learners. This study aimed to describe the effects of SLP on learners' early literacy. It focuses on the foundational skills of reading, writing, and phonemic awareness. Furthermore, the study also described the program's effect on the development of the 21st-century skills of the pre-service teachers. Coordinators of the program coordinated with the Early Child and Care and Development (ECCD) center at Linao East, and the Early Learning Observation and Rating Scale (ELORS) was used to identify learners needing additional early literacy assistance. It was the same tool used to monitor the progress of the learners. Data from 17 learners who completed the five tutorial sessions were included in this study. Using a paired-sample t-test, this study revealed that the project TEACHER significantly affects the learners' reading and phonemic awareness skills but not their writing skills. Meanwhile, the 26 pre-service teachers involved in the program were interviewed. Thematic analysis of their answers revealed that the program was effective for the following skills: communication, socio-emotional, collaboration, adaptability and flexibility, social responsibility, and classroom management. Hence, the project TEACHER is an effective SLP as it enhances the learners' early literacy skills and helps develop 21st-century skills among pre-service teachers. However, further planning must be done to make it effective for the learners' writing skills.



References:

  1. Afzal, A., & Hussain, N. (2020). The impact of community service-learning on the social skills of students. Journal of Education and Educational Development, 7(1), 55. https://doi.org/10.22555/joeed.v7i1.2988
  2. Alrajeh, T. S. (2021). Project-based Learning to Enhance Pre-service Teachers’ Teaching Skills in Science Education. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 9(2), 271–279. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2021.090202
  3. Aygun, H. E. (2018). The Relationship between Pre–Service Teachers’ Cognitive Flexibility and Interpersonal Problem Solving Skills. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 18(77), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2018.77.6  
  4. Brown, C. S. (2014). Language and Literacy Development in the Early Years: Foundational Skills that Support Emergent Readers. The Language and Literacy Spectrum, 24, 35–49. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1034914.pdf   
  5. Carruth, L., & Bustos, C. (2019). Phonemic Awareness: It's All in the Sounds of Language. Texas Association for Literacy Education Yearbook, 6, 55-58. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1291358.pdf   
  6. Chenarani, K. (2017). An Introduction to Service-Learning Pedagogy. Retrieved from  https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED573436   
  7. Coelho, M., & Menezes, I. (2021). University Social Responsibility, Service Learning, and Students’ Personal, Professional, and Civic Education. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.617300
  8. Gatcho, A.R., & Gutierrez, M.R. (2020). Literacy education in the philippines: a survey on what's hot and what's not. Luz y Saber, 12(2), 37-45. https://ejournals.ph/article.php?id=14298
  9. Graham, S., Aitken, A. A., Hebert, M., Camping, A., Santangelo, T., Harris, K. R., Eustice, K., Sweet, J. D., & Ng, C. (2021). Do children with reading difficulties experience writing difficulties? A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(8), 1481–1506. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000643
  10. Goodrich, J. M., Lonigan, C. J., & Farver, J. A. M. (2017). Impacts of a literacy-focused preschool curriculum on the early literacy skills of language-minority children. Early childhood research quarterly, 40, 13-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.02.001
  11. Häkkinen, P., Järvelä, S., Mäkitalo-Siegl, K., Ahonen, A., Näykki, P., & Valtonen, T. (2016). Preparing teacher-students for twenty-first-century learning practices (PREP 21): a framework for enhancing collaborative problem-solving and strategic learning skills. Teachers and Teaching, 23(1), 25–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2016.1203772.
  12. Harris, D. (2016). Kindergarten teacher knowledge of phonemic awareness and instruction: Developing proficient early reader (Dissertation). Northwest Nazarene University
  13. Hamsah, H., Mesra, R., Jannah, M., Bagit, J., Kiwo, R., Swabra, M., & Manurung, L. (2023). Efforts to improve reading ability through literacy learning (Studies on students at the Catholic Elementary School of ST. Vincentius Noongan). Technium Social Sciences Journal, 49(1), 30–35. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v49i1.9776  
  14. Hunpegan, H. (2022). A survey of early literacy practices at the basic level of education (Thesis). Lagos State University
  15. Klass, P., Hutton, J. S., & DeWitt, T. G. (2020). Literacy as a distinct developmental domain in children. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(5), 407. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0059
  16. Juan, R. S. (2019, December 3). Philippines lowest in reading comprehension among 79 countries. Philstar.com. Retrieved from http://surl.li/cvoush
  17. Kaynar, N., Sadik, O., & Boichuk, E. (2020). Technology in early childhood education: Electronic books for improving students’ literacy skills. TechTrends, 64, 911-921. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11528-020-00520-5
  18. Körükcü, M., & Tangülü, Z. (2021). Individual and global social responsibility levels of social studies pre-service teachers in terms of different variables. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 10(3), 1008. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v10i3.20552
  19. Khan, A., Khan, S., Zia-Ul-Islam, S., & Khan, M. (2017). Communication skills of a teacher and its role in the development of the students’ academic success. Journal of Education and Practice, 8(1), 18–21. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1131770
  20. Krown, T., & Bui, N. D. T. (2019). Creating a Meaningful Experience: On Service Learning and Teacher Preparedness (Capstone Projects and Master's Theses). California State Univ California State University, Monter , Monterey Bay
  21. Lavery, S., & Sandri, S. (2021). Pre-service primary and early childhood teachers' perceptions of a service-learning experience. Issues in Educational Research, 31(4), 1101-1120. https://www.iier.org.au/iier31/lavery.pdf
  22. Librea, N. K., Luciano, A. M., Sacamay, M. L., Libres, M. D., & Jr., A. C. (2023). Low Reading Literacy Skills of Elementary Pupils in the Philippines: Systematic Review. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 11(4), 1978–1985. https://doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2023.49480
  23. Lina, J. (2023, January 31). Why early childhood education is essential. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/c7fbf3t4
  24. Luyee, E. O., Roselan, Â. F. I., Anwardeen, N. H. Â., & Mustapa, F. H. M. (2018). Suitability of the Literacy and Numeracy Screening (LINUS) 2.0 programme in assessing children’s early literacy. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 3(2), 36–44. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1085912.pdf
  25. Milankov, V., Golubović, S., Krstić, T., & Golubović, P. (2021, May 19). Phonological Awareness as the Foundation of Reading Acquisition in Students Reading in Transparent Orthography. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5440. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105440
  26. Mohamed, S. S. A. (2016). Evaluating EFL students’ reading comprehension skills with reference to the Department of English at Zawia University, Libya (Doctoral thesis). Liverpool John Moores University.
  27. Naibaho, L. (2022). The pre-service teachers ‘communication ability analysis at teacher training and education faculty. Indonesian EFL Journal, 8(2), 237-246. http://repository.uki.ac.id/id/eprint/9725.
  28. Omar, M. K., Khambari, M. N. M., Ma’arof, A. M., & Razali, A. B. (2022). Impact of service-learning on students’ employability skills: A balanced approach to empower meaningful learning experience. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 10(2), 343-364. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2022.102025
  29. Puranik, C. S., Petscher, Y., Otaiba, S. A., & Lemons, C. J. (2018). Improving kindergarten students’ writing outcomes using peer-assisted strategies. The Elementary School Journal, 118(4), 680–710. https://doi.org/10.1086/697432
  30. Philippines SEA-PLM. (2019). Harness the potential of early childhood education for long-term benefits on children’s learning. Retrieved from  https://tinyurl.com/3kuzrw75
  31. Resch, K., & Schrittesser, I. (2023). Using the Service-Learning approach to bridge the gap between theory and practice in teacher education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 27(10), 1118-1132. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1882053
  32. Rohde, L. (2015). The comprehensive emergent literacy model: Early literacy in context. Sage Open, 5(1), 2158244015577664. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015577664
  33. Santi, A., & Quemado, M. E. (2017). Extent of Home Promotion on Early Literacy of Emergent Learners in One Day Care Center in the Philippines. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and Sciences, 4(4), 75-81. https://tinyurl.com/3vde6e6p
  34. Sivri, H., & Balcı, E. (2015). Pre-service teachers’ classroom management self-efficacy beliefs. International Online Journal of Edication Sciences, 7(4), 37-50. https://doi.org/10.15345/iojes.2015.04.004
  35. Somosot, I. S. (2020). 21st century skills and the readiness of preservice teachers toward practice teaching program. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 8(2), 36-42. https://tinyurl.com/u7fp43rz
  36. Suhartini, L. (2019). The Effectiveness of Using Problem Based Learning Method in Enhancing Students’ Reading Comprehension. International Journal of Education and Curriculum Application, 17.
  37. https://doi.org/10.31764/ijeca. v0i0.1972  
  38. Suggate, S. P. (2014). A Meta-Analysis of the Long-Term effects of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading Comprehension interventions. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 49(1), 77–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219414528540
  39. Tok, Ş., & Kandemir, A. (2015). Effects of creative writing activities on students’ achievement in writing, writing dispositions and attitude to english. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 1635–1642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.815
  40. Trasporte, A., Borong, F., Mones, J., Padillo, G., Manguilimotan, R., Espina, R., Capuno, J. F., & Capuno, R. (2023). Examining The Interest and Readiness in Writing Among the Young Learners from Three Public Elementary Schools in The Philippines. Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(1), 1017–1029. https://journalppw.com/index.php/jpsp/article/view/15346
  41. Urbani, J. M., Roshandel, S., Michaels, R., & Truesdell, E. (2017). Developing and modeling 21st-Century skills with preservice teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 44(4), 27–50. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1157317.pdf  
  42. Wehrhan, A. (2021). Teaching early literacy skills in preschool and future kindergarten success. Retrieved from https://nwcommons.nwciowa.edu/education_masters/307/
  43. Wildová, R., & Kropáčková, J. (2015, June). Early Childhood Pre-reading Literacy Development. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 878–883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.418
  44. Wood, T. L. (2019). Kindergarten Reading Readiness and Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (Dissertation). Walden University.
  45. Zulkifli, A.S., Sulaiman, N. F., & Mohamed, S. (2019). Pre-Service Teachers Knowledge of Classroom Management. Creative Education, 10(12), 2548–2554. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.1012182

Tools


Copyright © 2024  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic