School Literacy Ecosystems for Sustained Reading Participation

Abstract

This study investigated how school literacy ecosystems supported sustained reading participation among elementary learners in Santo Tomas, Isabela. Using a linked multi-informant ecological design, data were obtained from 42 elementary teachers and 126 Grades 4 to 6 learners. Teacher responses measured reading culture and shared practices, teacher support, access to texts and reading opportunities, and learner choice and voice, while learner responses assessed voluntary engagement, reading consistency, persistence, and participation in reading activities. Data were analyzed through two-level linear mixed-effects modeling to account for learners nested within teacher-linked instructional environments. Results showed a high overall school literacy ecosystem and high sustained reading participation, although access to texts received only a moderate rating and reading persistence emerged as the weakest learner dimension. The intraclass correlation coefficient of .261 indicated that 26.1% of the variation in reading participation occurred across instructional environments. Teacher support was the strongest predictor of sustained reading participation, followed by reading culture and shared practices and learner choice and voice. Access to texts did not independently predict participation when the other ecosystem dimensions were considered. The fixed effects explained 38.3% of the variance, while the complete model accounted for 51.9%. The findings underscored the importance of strengthening teacher-supported reading routines, meaningful learner choice, access to varied texts, and activities that develop persistence to sustain reading participation in elementary schools.