THE CAUSALITY OF READING PROBLEM: THE CASE STUDY OF GRADE 8 STRUGGLING

READERS IN REGION 12

A research proposal submitted to the College of Graduate Studies In partial

fulfillment of the requirement in EDUC 601

Submitted by:

SIMBAJON, JANIN MAE

EDULLANTES, ANNABELLE

FORRO, JOVIM APLAL,

NASSER
May 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1

7
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 8

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

Research Design 18

Research Locale 18
Research Participants
18
Research Instrument
19
Data Gathering
19
Procedure Procedural
20
Rigors
21
REFERENCES 22

APPENDICES

Consent Form To Participate In A Research Case Study 24

Interview Protocol 27

29
 CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Literacy is the ability to read and write. These skills are important for school, at

work, and at home. Writing is an act of transmitting knowledge in print. However, we

must have information to share before we can write it. Therefore, reading plays a

major role in writing. At the same time practice in writing helps students build their

reading skills.

Reading helps us make connections to our own experience and emotions. It can

make one a better writer or a better communicator. Derry English with Mrs. Harr, said

that Reading is fundamental to function in today's society. One must know how to

read. However, there are many adults who cannot read well enough to understand

the instructions on a medicine bottle. That is a scary thought - especially for their

children. Filling out application forms becomes impossible without help. Reading

road or warning signs is difficult. Even following a map becomes a chore; Reading is

a vital skill in finding a good job; Reading develops the mind. It is through reading

how we discover new things. Reading develops the imagination. It develops the

creative side of people. Reading is the key in developing a good self-image. Non-

readers or poor readers often have low opinions of themselves and their abilities.

Good reading skills improve spelling. Ideas written down have changed the destiny

of men and nations. The power of written ideas communicated through reading is a

foundational reason why some governments oppose free and honest

communication. Illiterate people are

easier to control and manipulate. They cannot do their own research and

thinking. They must rely on what they are told.

According to Walker (1998), reading is an active process (not a product like

history) in which readers shift between sources of information (what they know and

what the text says), elaborate meaning and strategies, check their interpretation

(receiving when appropriate and use social context to focus their responses).

Furthermore, The Interpretation Reading Association (2005) says reading is a

complete system of deriving meaning from print that requires all the following:

The development and maintenance of a motivation to read.

The development of appropriate active strategies to contrast meaning from prints.

Sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading

comprehension.

The ability to decode unfamiliar words.

The ability to read fluently.

From this definition of reading, we can say that reading is a complex activity

that requires good mastery and personal interest for sound effectiveness.

Unfortunately, many students lost interest and concentration in reading. In fact many

are still struggling readers even if they are already in their secondary level of

education.
THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

It is said that proficient reading consists of two key components: word

recognition and linguistics or language comprehension. The word recognition

component encompasses efficient decoding, accurate sight-word recognition, fluent

word reading and access to appropriate words in the reader’s mental lexicon that

provides semantic information at the word level. Thus, efficient word recognition

allows the reader to quickly pronounce a word and trigger recognition of words

acquired through language experiences (e.g., prior knowledge). Linguistic

Comprehension is defined as knowledge of facts and concepts, vocabulary,

language and text structures, and verbal reasoning structures and strategies. The

interaction of these two components results in reading comprehension (Deshler, DD

and Hock, M.F. 2006). They are equally essential for reading success.

Some reading theorists hold that if the learner cannot decode, he or she

cannot comprehend text effectively and efficiently (Hoover & Gough, 1990; Leberge

& Samuels, 1974). Thus, word recognition plays a critical role in reading

comprehension, and therefore, requires attention beyond the assumption that

students are proficient in recognizing words in text.

The word-level skills that seem to support comprehension include accuracy,

rate, and prosody (National Reading Panel, 2000). Of those elements, reading rate

seems most important; accuracy alone does not predict comprehension (Stahl &

Hiebert, 2004); Torgesen, Rashotte, & Alexander, 2001). Thus, it can be said that

comprehension is built on a foundation of words.

 According to D. Deshler and M. Hock (2006) struggling readers, who lack the

word-level skills and prior knowledge necessary to make learning happens need

specific strategies that account for these deficiencies, particularly when reading texts

that are poorly written. Kintsch calls this gap between what the learner already

knows and what is presented in text as the “learnability zone.” If the learnability zone

is beyond the reader’s skills and knowledge, less than proficient reading result. Thus

word level theory, and Kintsch’s reading comprehension theory seem compatible

and necessary for “deep” reading comprehension.

The Program for International Assessment (PISA) conducted a global survey in

2018. It was found out that among 600,000 students worldwide, Filipino students

around the age of 15 got a rating of 340 points in reading comprehension, lower than

the average of 487 points. Consequently, in the said study, the Philippines ranked

last among 79 countries.

In December 2019, Malacañang said, “The poor reading comprehension of Filipino

students is a reality.” Malacañang has taken this constructively, however, and rather

considered it a challenge to otherwise “make improvements in the state of Philippine

education.”

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

 The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine why students struggle

with reading, what causes their reading problems, and how teachers can help

students
improve their reading ability. The data are gathered from five secondary schools in

Region 12 and a structured interview is the primary source of data gathering for this

qualitative case study.

Specifically, this qualitative research ought to answer the following questions:

What are the causes of reading problems?

What are the effects of reading problems on the Grade 8 struggling readers in Region
12?

How do Grade 8 struggling readers in Region 12 overcome reading problems?

What are the effects of the school interventions for struggling readers?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The results of this qualitative research will have a significance for the

following: Teachers – the results of this study will give ideas to the teachers of

region 12 to identify the reason behind why there are struggling readers in Region

12.

Learners – this study will give intuition to learners on how to improve their reading

capabilities.

Parents – this study will help parents to understand their important role about the

reading comprehension of their children.

School Administrators – the finding of this study will give ideas to the school

administrator to provide information about the casualty of reading problems: the case

of struggling readers in secondary schools in Region 12.

Other Researchers – the results of this study will serves as a guide, reference and

basis for the future researches to further investigate the casualty of reading

problems: the case of struggling readers.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study is limited to discuss the common causes of the reading problems

among secondary school students who are identified as struggling readers.

Consequently, the study emphasizes more on the micro skills rather than macro

skills which the writers assume that the skills on vocabulary, phonology, morphology,

phonics knowledge and reading fluency in decoding and comprehension have not

yet been mastered by the identified struggling readers in Region 12.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Reading - the ability to attach meaning to printed symbols

Skills - the ability to do something well

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) – a worldwide study by the

organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in member and non- Student s-

individuals, usually under the age of 16, studying in secondary school

Learnability zone – also known as the growth zone where existing skills and abilities

are stretched, allowing you to learn and develop new ones.

Struggling Readers – students who experience difficulty learning to read; “Students

who are considered to be struggling readers typically read one or more years below

their current grade-level but do not have an identified learning disability of any kind”

(Hall, 2014).

member nations intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-year-old

school pupil’s scholastic performance on Mathematics, Science and Reading;

founded in 1997 and with 79 members from government education departments

worldwide
 Chapter II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

In order to perform well in school, all students must master one of the fundamental

skills which is reading. It is through reading that students expand their vocabulary

and learn about the world. Dr. Seuss once said, “The more that you read, the more

things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” It implies

that reading is essential. It helps you enrich your knowledge, for you can learn what

you do not know, not only in academics but in any sort of learning. It helps one

create second thoughts different from his perception of things. Moreover, reading

exposes you to ideas you never would have considered, situations you never would

have been exposed to, and people you never would have met (Abdool, M., 2015),

and places you never have been to.

There is much to learn about in this world!

Reading begins with mastering pre-literacy skills, including learning the alphabet and

enhancing phonemic awareness. This is followed closely by phonics instruction that

teaches children how to map sounds to letters and sound out words. As more terms

become familiar to a beginner reader, the process speeds up via whole word

recognition or sight-reading. This can be encouraged through direct instruction in

high frequency vocabulary. When students move into middle school, they will be

asked to achieve greater feats of comprehension, which include understanding

complex texts and processing more information in shorter amounts of time

(Cicerchia, M. (nd)).

The Sound Solution (Phonemic Awareness for Reading Success) posted in one of its

articles the Surprising facts about reading to wit:

98% of reading is auditory, only 2% of reading is visual. Listening to a story

and reading that same story will activate the exact same pathways in the

brain. It’s not where the sensory information comes from but where it ends up

in the brain. Our eyes act more like ears when we read.

Seven out of eight students with reading problems in first grade continue to

struggle with reading in 9th grade. They get better but never catch up.

Improving listening skills is often the easiest route to improving reading skills.

Listening skills including phonemic awareness, auditory attention, auditory

sequencing, and listening vocabulary are the most important factors in natural

reading. Teachers often notice that the child who has a hard time listening to a

story also struggles to read.

The biggest barrier to comprehension is lack of fluency. Less than 15% of

learning disabled students have comprehension problems if they read

accurately and read faster than 80 words a minute. It is like teaching a child

how to steer a bike before they learn how to pedal.

The National Reading Panel in the U.S. found that phonics instruction was of

marginal benefit unless a student has well-developed phonemic awareness.

This is why some first graders pick up phonics in months and struggling

readers can take years.

English is the most difficult major language to listen and to read. For

struggling readers, listening to English can be like listening to a foreign

language you haven’t quite mastered.

 The main reason English is so difficult to speak, listen to, and to read is

because spoken English has an exceptional number of vowel sounds

(phonemes). The ability to hear and identify individual sounds is what

separates natural readers from struggling readers. Many weak readers

struggle with spelling and most of their errors – not surprisingly — are with

vowels.

Based on the above-mentioned facts, it could be said that reading is a common

struggle for students of all ages. It can lead to stress and frustration and can have an

impact on student’s success as any learning skill. They can quickly fall behind in

their classes because they have trouble with skills in writing, spelling, fluency, and

comprehension. Difficulty with reading often lowers self-esteem among students.

If your child struggles with reading, it doesn’t mean he or she isn’t smart. There are

many reasons why he or she may be struggling, and most have nothing to do with

intelligence. Learning why your child is struggling can help him or her develop the

skills needed to become a more skilled and confident reader.

Meredith Cicerchia, an education consultant in Nottingham and a writer, has

identified three common reading problems for students namely:

Issues with decoding - also known as sounding out words, decoding is when

children are able to put sounds to letters in order to sound out written

language. It’s
common for beginner readers to struggle when they meet new or unfamiliar terms,

but typically decoding becomes easier with phonics instruction and repeated practice

with reading out loud. If a child continues to struggle, there may be a specific

learning difficulty present, or a physical impairment that is preventing them from

physically seeing the letters or hearing the sounds in spoken language. Learn more

in our posts on dyslexia and visual impairment in the classroom.

Poor comprehension - There’s a lot going on in reading, from letter and word

recognition to understanding meaning at the phrase, sentence, and paragraph

level. When a beginner reader encounters vocabulary they do not know or do

not recognize due to inaccurate decoding, they are likely to skip ahead. The

more blanks in a line of text, the harder it is to make meaning and the more

cognitively challenging and frustrating the reading task becomes. That’s why

poor comprehension can result when a student struggles with decoding, has a

limited vocabulary or attempts to read a text that is at too high of a level

However, reading also requires being able to pay attention to narrative. Students

need to identify gist, main ideas, and specific details and even make inferences

about what they are reading. If a student has problems staying focused as a result of

ADD or ADHD, it can impact on comprehension.

Speed - The more students read, the more they encounter unfamiliar terms.

Quite often the context in which these new words are found gives children all

of the clues they need to guess at the meaning. As students expand their

vocabulary, they recognize more words by sight and reading speeds up.

Students who continue to decode may benefit from overlearning sight words

such as those on the Dolch List.

If speed is still an issue, there may be an underlying problem, such as slow

processing. Reading is a cognitively demanding task and holding so much

information in the mind while continuing to process text can exhaust children with

slow processing. Strategy instruction may help but it’s important that these students

be allowed extra time to complete tasks that require extensive reading.

Reading is both physical and physiological functions such as vision, hearing, and

thought are possible only through the organs of the body. No direct relationship may

be said to exist between reading disability and physical health. However, it is obvious

that a child who is ill is not able to do well in school.

Factors Affecting Reading

According to Aderson, J. (2018), a child's reading performance is highly

affected by many factors including:

Background knowledge,

Ability,

Home environment,
School experiences and interest level
However, pure reading performance is most directly linked to a child’s success with

five early literacy skills–phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, fluency,

vocabulary and comprehension.

Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and orally manipulate the individual

sounds that make words. This skill is performed entirely with oral, not written,

language. Students with strong phonemic awareness are better prepared to sound

out words while reading and more likely to become fluent, proficient readers.

Phonemic awareness includes the ability to segment words into individual sounds,

blend sounds to produce words, recognize words with sentences, distinguish

syllables and identify and produce rhyming words. Phonemic awareness can be a

difficult task for young students and must be explicitly taught to early readers.

Alphabetic Principle

The alphabetic principle encompasses recognition of letters, an understanding

that words are made from individual letters and the ability to connect sounds with

letters in print. Working with the alphabetic principle means deciphering the

alphabetic code of words. Decoding, or sounding out words, is an essential skill

involved with the alphabetic principle. However, the English alphabet is complex and

difficult to master. Many letters have more than one possible sound and many

sounds have more than one possible letter. Rigorous practice with identifying letters,

connecting sounds to the letters and utilizing these skills within words encourages a

strong grasp of the alphabetic principle.

Fluency

Fluency involves the accuracy and speed of a student’s reading. A fluent

reader is able to read text correctly, quickly and with appropriate voice tone. Gaining

fluency makes reading a more pleasurable and less stressful experience for

students. Fluent readers are usually able to read almost effortlessly. This allows

them to concentrate their efforts on comprehension and vocabulary as opposed to

decoding and recognizing words. For a student to become a proficient reader who

gains meaning from text, she must first become a fluent reader.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary involves gaining meaning from words while reading. Essentially, a

student cannot comprehend or construct meaning from text without understanding

the words within the passage. A child with strong vocabulary knowledge is able to

read more fluently and with more purpose. A child’s vocabulary grows daily through

conversation, reading, direct instruction and life experiences. Reading aloud to

children everyday and explicitly teaching selected words help nurture strong

vocabulary knowledge.

Comprehension

Comprehension involves constructing meaning from what is being read.

Reading truly has no purpose without comprehension. In order to comprehend text, a

reader must actively and intentionally think about and analyze meaning while

reading. Good comprehension requires strong abilities in all four of the other

fundamental literacy skills. Students must consider many bits of information while

reading to comprehend the text such as genre, text structure, the author’s purpose

and familiar
 and unfamiliar words. Strong comprehension encourages self-directed learning and

lifelong reading.

Causes of the huge numbers of non-readers in the Philippines

We cannot deny the fact that the number of non-readers in the country is

absolutely alarming. Even in the schools we are connected with suffer the same

problem. This problem must be addressed as much as possible by the department of

education.

According to Alicum (2012), the followings are the factors that cause the

increase number of non-readers in the Philippines particularly in public schools.

Parental involvement in the process of learning

There are some parents who are just relying on the teachers when it comes to

their child's learning. It is ideal, therefore, for parents to follow-up their child's

learning right after the formal studies of their child.

Inappropriate materials/techniques used by teacher

Due to the number of students inside the classroom and their diversities also

affect their learning, the teachers cannot provide sufficient materials which address

the problems of all learners at the same time. Since there is no enough fund for

learning facilities and materials, the teacher will just use what is available even if it is

not really suitable for other learners.

Extreme poverty
 Children are forced to work rather than to choose schooling. They prefer to

feed their hungry stomach than to learn. To this reason, the child is not

developmentally ready to learn.

Remediation in the Philippines

Philippine schools employ the use of remedial learning or remediation to alleviate the

problems that might arise due to poor reading skills and reading comprehension

skills. Reading teachers or what we call the remedial reading teachers were hired or

were given the job because these teachers have the background in language

teaching or has been teaching English for a while. Unfortunately, hiring or

designating remedial reading teachers didn’t alleviate the problems that aroused

because of poor reading ability and poor reading comprehension, instead this even

worsen the situation because of a lot of reasons. One reason pointed and observed

is the workload of these teachers since we all know that these teachers are doing

other works aside from teaching remedial learners. Aside from this problem, it is also

evident that these teachers doesn’t even know their roles and the techniques they

have to employ to have a successful remediation. This is because of the fact that

there are no studies focusing on the teaching learners in need of remediation. This

fact is the reason for job qualification mismatch for these teachers that results to low

progress in remediation (Gacho & Bautista, 2019).

PHIL-IRI as a way of determining Slow Readers

The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) is an initiative of the Bureau of

Learning Delivery, Department of Education that directly addresses its thrust to make
every Filipino child a reader. It is anchored on the flagship program of the

Department: “Every Child A Reader Program,” which aims to make every Filipino

child a reader and a writer at his/her grade level.

The Phil-IRI is an informal reading inventory composed of graded passages

designed to determine the individual student's performance in oral reading, silent

reading and listening comprehension. These three types of assessments aim to find

the student’s independent, instructional and frustration levels. The data from these

measures could be used to design or adjust classroom, small group or individualized

instruction to fit the students’ needs and abilities. The Phil-IRI is not the sole

assessment tool that provides the holistic reading performance of the students; it

only provides an approximation of the students' abilities and could be used in

combination with other reliable tools of assessment. The data shall also serve as one

of the bases in planning, designing/redesigning the reading programs or activities in

the school to improve the overall school reading performance.

The entire set or package of Phil-IRI materials consists of: 1) Manual of Administration,

Group Screening Test in Filipino (GST) from Grades III-VI, 3) Group

Screening Test in English from Grades IV to VI, 4) Graded Passages from

Grade II to VII (Sets A, B, C, D) in English and Grades I to VI in Filipino (Sets

A, B, C, D) and, 5) Forms for recording purposes both in English and Filipino.

 Chapter III
METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study will utilize the multiple case study research design that deal with real-life

events that show numerous sources of evidence through replication rather than

sampling logic. This is done through duplicating the case through linking several

pieces of information from the same case to some theoretical proposition (Campbell,

1975).

Research Locale

The study will focus on the students within Region 12 or SOCSKSARGEN who

having issues with reading. These respondents will come from the five (5) schools

where the researchers are connected to. These schools are as follows:
 Lamba National High School in Lamba, Banga, South Cotabato;

San Miguel National High School in San Miguel, Norala, South Cotabato;

; and

Children’s Grace of Mary Tutorial and Learning Center in Tacurong, Sultan

Kudarat

Reseach Participants

The respondents will one student from each of the schools where the respondents

are teaching. The respondents will be determined according to these criteria:

A student who has low ratings in Phil-IRI;

A student who has Out-of-context word decoding (and spelling) e.g Informal

spelling inventories; and

 Oral text reading accuracy;

Oral text reading fluency;

Oral vocabulary; and

Listening comprehension (sentences/passages) ; and

A student who considers reading materials of his grade level higher than his level.

(Swerling, 2015)

Research Instrument

This case study will be utilizing the demographic information of the specified learners

and their reading comprehension through the data obtained in the Phil IRE. The

method to be used in this case study is supported by the Serdal & Mehmet (2020)

that used the demographic profile of the respondents such as gender, age, class and

school they last attended. The researchers will modify the method by gathering the

demographic and the educational information of the respondent’s parents or

guardians since this might be a factor that might affect the reading difficulty of the

respondents.

Data Collection Process

For this research, the respondents will be determined and screened through a

criteria specified by the researchers to ensure the uniformity of the common

characteristic of the respondents. After identifying the respondents, the researchers

will give consent letter to the respondents’ parents or guardians to ensure that

whatever information
used in the research is approved by them. After this, the principal or the school head

of the school will be given an approval letter to ensure that whatever process the

respondents will undergo will be approved. After getting an approval the respondents

will undergo series of interview sessions, reading assessments and observations.

The parents or guardians of the respondents will also undergo series of interviews to

see how they affect the reading difficulty of their child.

Procedural Rigors

In ensuring the trustworthiness of the study’s findings, the researcher will use the

citations used by Grundmeyer (2012). The study will employ strategies suggested by

Lincoln and Guba (1985). The researcher will decrease threats to credibility

(quantitative researchers would use the term internal validity) by triangulating data.

To increase dependability (called reliability in quantitative research), the researcher

will provide an audit trail by describing in detail how data was collected, how

categories were derived, and how decisions were made throughout the inquiry

(Merriam, 1998). The researcher will good rich, thick description (Merriam, 1998),

thus enabling other researchers to make decisions about transferability (known as

external validity or generalizability in quantitative research). To increase

conformability (known as objectivity in quantitative studies), the researcher will

attempt to control for bias by constantly comparing data, searching the literature for

examples of the phenomenon, obtaining multiple viewpoints (Strauss & Corbin,

1998), searching for negative instances of the phenomenon, and checking and

rechecking data (Marshall & Rossman, 1989).

Ethical Considerations

The participation of any of the respondents or respondent’s guardian/s are voluntarily

obtained before the conduction of the research, thus, withdrawal of participation in

any stage of the research conduction will be acceptable if they wish to do so. Since,

everything is voluntarily obtained in this research, the respondents give information

through the consent given before the conduction of the research. This guarantees

the respondents that whatever information they will be willingly give or unwillingly

give are considered acceptable. In the course of the interview or conduction of the

research instrument the use of inappropriate and offensive words will be avoided by

the researchers to ensure that the respondents’ rights will not be violated during the

conduction of the research. The respondents’ privacy is of a paramount importance

in the conduction of the research, thus, any information disclosed by the respondents

will be between the researchers and the transcriber only. Therefore, the researchers

will be held responsible for any information disclosed in the course of the research

conduction. The researchers will also be held liable to any uncited and

unacknowledged works of authors used in the whole research.

 REFERENCES

Abdool, Mustafa (2015). Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/Give-explanation-on-

the-thought-The-more-that-you-read-the-more-things-you-will-know-The-

more-that-you-learn-the-more-places-you-will-go

Cicerchia, M (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ww.readandspell.com/common-

reading-problems

Cutting, L. E. (April 2017). What are the factors that contribute to reading failure?

Retrieved from https://www.hmhco.com/blog/what-are-the-factors-that-contribute-to-

reading- failure#:~:text=What%20causes%20poor%20reading%20skills,more

%20biologically

%20based%20risk%20factors.

Gatcho, A. R., & Bautista, J. C. (2019). A Literature Review on Remedial Reading Teachers:

The Gaps in the Philippine Context. Philippine Normal University. retrieved from

https://eric.ed.gov/?q=reading+difficulty+in+the+philippines&id=EJ1266182

Deniz, S. & Yavuz, M. (2020). Investigation of reading error types, reading levels and reading

speeds of students with special learning difficulties. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences.

15(4), 674- 698. DOI: 10.18844/cjes.v%vi%i.5051

ARTICLES

Why students struggle with reading (June 2019). Retrieved from

https://www.oxfordlearning.com/why-students-struggle-with-reading/

Surprising facts about reading (n.d.). Retrieve from https://soundreading.com/the-

software/facts-about-reading/

The five components in reading (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://readingeggs.com/articles/2016/06/10/five-components-of-reading/

Ethical Coniderations

https://research-methodology.net/research-methodology/ethical-considerations/
 APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: CONSENT FORM TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH CASE STUDY

Title of Study: The causality of reading problem: The case study of struggling
readers in secondary schools in Region 12.

The researchers: Janin Mae Simbajon

Jovim Forro
Nasser Aplal
Annabelle Eullantes
Geraldine Latigay

This is a research case study. Please take your time in deciding if you would like
your son/daughter to participate and feel free to ask questions at any time.

INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this case study is to examine the following:
why students struggle with reading;
what causes their reading problems; and
how teachers can help students improve their reading ability.

The researchers would like to invite you and your son/daughter to participate in this
case study. We believe that you can help us come up good results and
recommendations on how to help struggling readers improve their reading skill
performance.

DESCRIPTION OF PROCEDURES:
The researcher identified five secondary students from different schools in Region
12. That includes your son/daughter. If you agree to participate, the researchers will
interview you and your son/daughter for no longer than two hours.

Before the interview: You will be given guide questions ahead of time.

During the interview: The actual interview will be recorded and you may skip any
questions that you do not wish to answer. Furthermore, you will be identified by a
pseudonym (assumed name) to conceal your identity.

After the interview: Your participation will be over. The recording will be transcribed
and we will present to you a copy of the transcript for your review. It will be delivered
personally or via email to the address that you will provide.
RISKS:
Rest assured that there are no known or probable risks in participating in this case
study. Moreover, when the research case study is done, you will be provided with a
write-up of its finding.
BENEFITS
There there are no personal advantages to participation if you decide to participate in
this case study. However, the researchers hope that the information gathered will
benefit the school leaders, teachers, and parents as well in relation to helping the
struggling readers improve their reading ability.
You will not have any costs related to participating in this study other than the time
you are going to spend voluntarily with the researchers during the interview and
reviewing the interview transcript.

CONFIDENTIALITY
Whenever necessary, we will secure a copy of your school records with the
assurance that your privacy will be respected and all reasonable efforts will be made
to protect you. All information about the participants will be kept confidential and will
not be made publicly available, even if the result of this study will be published.
You are encouraged to ask questions or express your concerns at any time during
this study. For further information about this study,
please contact
.

CONSENT STATEMENT

Title of Study: The causality of reading problem: The case study of struggling
readers in secondary schools in Region 12.

Given sufficient time to think about it and after my questions have been answered
satisfactorily by the researchers, I agree to take part in the case study specified
above. I have had the case study clearly explained to me, and I understand that to
agree in taking part in it means that:
I allow the researchers to access my school records whenever necessary for the
purpose of preparing and publishing a case study.
I understand that my participation is voluntary and I can choose not to participate
in part or all of the case study. I am free to withdraw at any stage from this
study without being penalized or disadvantaged in any way.
I understand that any data that the researchers extract from the interview or from
my school records will not, under any circumstances, contain my real name or
personal information about me.
I understand that my identity may be guessed or discovered by someone reading
the case study. However, I believe that any information I provide to the
researchers is confidential, and that the data about me and my son/daughter
shall be de-identified to preserve our privacy as participants.
I will be given a signed copy of this consent form.
Email address:
 APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

Interview Introduction

Hello (respondent name). Thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me. I

know you have a busy schedule and really appreciate your willingness to participate

in this project. As stated in a previous letter, we are 2nd year Masters in Teaching

English (MAT-English) students from Sultan Kudarat State University. Today I hope

to glean information and background of why you tend to have difficulty in reading and

reading comprehension.

Any information you share will not be attributed to you or used to identify you

or anyone else. You will remain anonymous in any ensuing presentations or

publications that may stem from this study.

As a result of your participation, there should be no risks for you personally or

for your school. Your participation is strictly voluntary and may be discontinued at

any time during the interview. You may also decline to answer any question during

this interview. For ease of note taking, getting all of your input, and not slowing down

the interview, I would like to record our conversation. The recording made today will

be kept confidential and in a safe place. The only people that will hear the audio

recording will be me and the person who transcribes our conversation. It will be kept

in a secure location and destroyed when the study is complete.

If at any time you would prefer that I turn the recorder off, please let me know,

and I will do so immediately. Any questions before we begin? Did you sign the

Informed Consent to participate in this study? Do I have your permission to begin

recording our discussion?

Interview Questions

What is the educational attainment of your parents?

 Are they teaching you how to read at home? In what way?

How do teachers give remedial readings to students like you?

What problems do you encounter because of your difficulty in reading?

How were you able to understand discussions?

Conclusion:

Is there anything that I did not ask you that you would like to share?

Thank you so much for participating in this interview. I appreciate your time

and thoughts. After I have reviewed the transcript of our conversation today, may

I contact you if I have further questions?

If you have any further questions for me, please do not hesitate to contact me

at any time. A written transcript of this interview will be made available to you to

verify accuracy of your views and experiences. You will hear back from me in 1-two

weeks. As a reminder this information will remain confidential and will be destroyed

at the end of the project. Let me confirm your email one more time. Do you have any

final comments or questions?

Thanks and have a great rest of the day/evening.

APPENDIX C: OBSERVATION SHEET