Page 13 - The Inquiry into the Development and Implementation of a Multimedia Resource to Help Improve Parental Involvement in Their Child’s Reading Literacy During the Primary School Years.

Figure 1.1 NCTE e-Learning Roadmap - NCTE e-Learning Roadmap

This understanding shaped the direction of my action research as I identified the area

in need of change within my school. I decided to choose reading as the primary

focus of my multimedia resource as I felt that reading is a subject that applies to
every parent and child in our school, from junior infants through to sixth class. It can

be both a fun and bonding experience as well as an essential life skill in this ever
increasing literate society. The importance of developing good reading habits during

the primary school years cannot be overlooked, as Bredekamp (2000) notes, in the

early childhood years, from when the child is born through to eight years, is the most
important period for literacy development. According to Oxenham (2017), some of

the benefits of reading with a child include improved vocabulary, language and
literacy skills, increased concentration, creativity and the development of empathy to

name but a few. My work colleagues also supported the idea of creating a reading

resource that could help improve our pupils reading standards.

My aspiration to create this resource was further motivated from the data analysis I
gathered via an online questionnaire from the parents of our school. The data

revealed that of those parents who read with their child, the majority only listen to
their child read aloud and do not incorporate the many reading strategies and

techniques we use in our school such as intonation, expression, questioning, speed

and pace. The parents were also unaware of or had limited knowledge of the main

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