The influence of parental involvement and teachers' background variables on early grade students’ Amharic reading achievement
Keywords:
reading achievement, parental involvement, teachers’ background variablesAbstract
This research aimed to explore the influence of parental involvement (resource based, creating a conducive reading environment, and reading-based) and teachers' background variables (qualification, academic rank, and years of service) on enhancing early-grade students’ Amharic reading achievement. A descriptive correlational design was employed. One hundred sixty 2nd and 3rd graders and 16 Amharic teachers were randomly selected from Ewket Fana, Dilchibo, Shimbit, and Teyima elementary schools in Bahir Dar during the 2025 school year. Data were collected using reading assessment tests and questionnaires on parental involvement and teachers' background. Bivariate linear regression was used for statistical analysis. Results indicate that both parental involvement (R2=.509–.831, β=.701 .916, p < .05) and teachers' background variables (R2=.506–.714, β=.712–.781, p <. 05) demonstrated a significant positive correlation with, and could predict, students’ reading achievements across various domains (letter name identification, familiar & non-sense words reading, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension). However, teachers’ background variables did not show a significant correlation with students’ phonemic awareness (R2=.011–.390, β=.031–.625, p >.05). These findings suggest that, with the exception of phonemic awareness, parental involvement and teachers' background variables can enhance early-grade students' reading achievement within the Amharic context.
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