Abstract
This study aimed to identify the factors contributing to reading difficulties among learners in the post-pandemic as perceived by teachers in a public elementary school in Buenavista, Quezon, for the SY 2023-2024. Using a descriptive research method, the researcher selected 60 teachers from Buenavista Elementary School through random sampling. Data were collected via a questionnaire focusing on phonological awareness, auditory processing, visual memory, and comprehension of the language. The findings revealed significant challenges across all four areas. In terms of phonological awareness, children struggled the most with recognizing and producing rhyming words, blending and segmenting single-syllable spoken words, and forming words into different sounds, with mean agreement scores of 4.45, 4.3, and 4.2, respectively. Understanding phonemes and pronouncing initial, medial vowel, and final sounds in CVC words were also challenging but to a slightly lesser degree, with mean scores of 4.1 and 4.0. Regarding auditory processing, the greatest difficulty was in remembering what was heard, with a mean score of 4.63. Explaining the meaning of spoken language due to limited vocabulary, maintaining attention, and making sense of sounds also posted significant challenges, with mean scores of 4.4 and 4.2. Following multi-step instructions was the least challenging in this area, with a mean score of 4.10. For visual memory, the highest difficulty was in recalling text, images, and details, with a mean score of 4.23. Creating mental pictures of information, understanding word sequences, and copying information from books or boards were also problematic, with mean scores of 4.22, 4.15, and 3.88, respectively. Recognizing letters or numbers was the least challenging, with a mean score of 3.82. In terms of language comprehension, children find it most difficult to follow directions, as indicated by a mean score of 4.55. Processing text details and extracting meaning from written words and sentence structures were also significant challenges, with mean scores of 4.23 and 4.2. Responding to conversations or questions in texts was the least difficult, with a mean score of 3.95. The study employed Spearman’s Rho correlation to determine the significance of these factors, revealing a substantial positive correlation between phonological awareness, auditory processing, visual memory, and language comprehension. With a p-value less than 0.05, the null hypothesis was rejected, indicating that these factors are significantly correlated.
