Why read? Understanding perspectives of reading and non-reading parents in rural Rwanda and implications for programming

• In Event: Meeting children's needs for literacy learning: four perspectives

Proposal

This mixed-methods study examined perceptions among reading and non-reading parents attending reading awareness workshops (RAWs) in two villages in rural Rwanda. The four constructs studied included: (a) parent perceptions of the utility of reading and the ability to read in their local context, (b) parent sense of self-efficacy to support the early literacy skill development of their young child, (c) parent belief regarding the role of parents in the early literacy skill development of their young child, and (d) parent perception of their child’s level of motivation to read and write. Methods included survey and observational data from parents participating in RAWs and interviews and home observations from eight focal parents representing a range of reading skill levels.
All parents agreed that it was important for their children to learn how to read. However, parents had different explanations of why they thought reading was important. On parent surveys, the most common sentiment expressed by parents, from most frequent to least, was that knowing how to read, improved their: (a) quality of life, (b) financial prospects, (c) utility to others, (d) acquiring specific occupations, and (e) consuming print material. A drawing activity revealed that non-reading status was associated with more negative perceptions than reading status. Being a reader was seen as synonymous with school and school activities. At best, non-readers were perceived as refusing to take pens or books because they did not know how to read, at worst, they were perceived as thinking books were useless and burning them or disrupting those who were attempting to learn to read.
A majority of focal parents expressed confidence in their ability to help their child learn to read. However, interviews indicated a range of ways in which parents reported helping their children learn to read. Parent responses were divided into five categories: (a) creating an environment conducive to learning, (b) providing basic needs, (c) providing scholastic materials, (d) facilitating child’s literacy skill practice, and (e) actively teaching child literacy skills.
A majority of parents felt that parents should be involved in teaching children how to read. However, a high percentage also felt that the teacher was the sole person responsible for teaching children how to read. This confusion may be due, in part, to parent understanding of what it meant to be involved in their children’s reading. Some parents met with teachers only when there was a problem and others met with teachers as much as twice per week. Most of these conversations involved discussion about the child’s academic performance in class. There was no mention of parents sharing information with the teacher about their child’s reading behavior or learning taking place at home. Inherent in this information was the perception that a majority of learning happens in school with the teacher and that a parent’s role was to check up on progress being made at school.
Most parents mentioned that their children were motivated or extremely motivated to read but reported using different cues to gauge their child’s motivation. The five different ways parents reported knowing that their child was motivated to read were: (a) child initiated reading and writing independently, (b) child read and wrote (or pretended to read and write) often, (c) child expressed joy when reading or being read to, (d) child acknowledged their own high literacy performance or spoke about high aspirations regarding their literacy learning, and (e) child brought home print material.
Given that children spend most of their waking hours with their families and communities, in places outside of schools, and particularly in the wake of Covid-19, it is imperative to consider the perceptions that accompany family participation in a literacy intervention, particularly the mechanisms through which change is thought to occur. This study takes a step in the direction of understanding some of the underlying experiences and perceptions of rural parents qualitatively. It is hoped the results of this study will add to the body of literature about rural parents and inform the design of questionnaires and programs for parents in this and similar regions moving forward.

Author

• Saima Sohail Malik, USAID Bureau for Policy, Planning, and Learning