ABSTRACT
This study investigated the effectiveness of Digitized and Contextualized Reading Pathways as an Intervention tool for developing the literacy skills of Grade 10 learners at Ibajay Integrated School during SY 2026-2027. Utilizing a true experimental research design, the study involved 50 Grade 10 students. The intervention integrated scaffolded reading activities, contextualized texts, explicit strategy training, guided questioning, predicting, inferencing, summarizing, reflection and self-monitoring across diverse thematic pathways. Data were gathered using a researcher-made, expert-validated and pilot-tested. Literacy skills test measuring reading comprehension, inference-making and metacognitive strategy usage. Descriptive statistics like mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage were used, for the inferential statistics, paired samples t-test and independent samples t-test were utilized for data analysis.
The findings revealed that both groups had comparable low baseline literacy skills prior to the intervention, falling under the Low/Weak Proficiency category with no significant pretest difference. Following the intervention, both instructional methods demonstrated significant improvements. However, the experimental group exposed to the Digitized and Contextualized Reading Pathways achieved a mean that classified as Mastered/Excellent Proficiency level. In contrast, the control group under conventional instruction attained a mean under Closely Approximating Mastery/Very Good Proficiency level.
The results conclude that while conventional instruction improves reading performance, the Digitized and Contextualized Reading Pathways intervention is substantially more effective in elevating students’ reading comprehension, inference-making capabilities, and metacognitive regulation to mastery levels. The study recommends institutionalizing structured, digitized and contextualized reading frameworks in secondary school curriculum and reading intervention programs to support literacy development.
Keywords: Conventional Reading Instruction, Contextualized Reading Pathways, Digitized Reading Pathways, Inference Making, Literacy Skills, Reading Pathways
INTRODUCTION
Reading goes beyond just the decoding of words since it is an interactive process whereby there is comprehension, reflection, strategic thinking, and motivation. Reading literacy is defined by one’s capacity to comprehend, interpret, analyze, and use written texts for their own personal needs, learning purposes, and effective participation within society. The cognitive engagement in reading entails the mental processes adopted by readers when interacting with texts through questioning, inference, comprehension checks, and relating the new information to previous knowledge (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2020). On the other hand, reading pathways are systematic arrangements of reading tasks aimed at taking learners through increasingly challenging texts while incorporating explicit reading strategies (Afflerbach et al., 2021). Similarly, the framework of PISA underscores the importance of cognitive engagement and strategic behaviors associated with reading literacy for comprehension, evaluation, and application of information in both printed and online texts (OECD, 2019).
Nationally, literacy for adolescents remains a serious issue in education. Whereas many students enrolled in secondary schools may be proficient in decoding, there are many students who find it difficult to comprehend, infer and think critically and analytically, skills necessary to excel in their studies. Many studies now point out that factors like engagement and motivation of learners and the explicit instruction of metacognitive reading strategies are some of the most important things that influence learners into becoming strategic readers (Jang, 2023; International Literacy Association, 2023). In this regard, educational systems have adopted a more structured way of improving literacy through scaffolding and engagement of learners in their reading interventions.
In Asia, international large-scale assessments show poor reading proficiency levels among adolescents. Such findings have led to adoption of different instructional practices that include scaffolded reading, differentiated instruction, contextualized learning materials, and strategic reading programs, among others. In the Philippines, the Department of Education has strengthened literacy development through programs such as the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI), Project BEAR, and Arangkada Pagbasa, which primarily focus on improving foundational reading skills among beginning and struggling readers (Aquino et al., 2024). Despite these initiatives, relatively few intervention studies have focused on Grade 10 learners, whose curriculum requires them to process increasingly sophisticated informational and literary texts while demonstrating higher-order comprehension, inferential reasoning, and metacognitive thinking.
At the local level, Ibajay Integrated School continues to face challenges in developing the literacy skills of Grade 10 learners. Based on classroom observations, teacher assessments, and school reading performance records, many learners demonstrate satisfactory oral reading fluency but experience difficulty in understanding complex texts, drawing logical inferences, synthesizing ideas, evaluating information critically, and applying appropriate metacognitive reading strategies during independent reading activities. These challenges are reflected in learners' classroom performance, written outputs, and assessment results, where comprehension and higher-order thinking skills remain areas of concern. Furthermore, existing reading interventions in the school primarily emphasize remediation of basic reading skills and provide limited opportunities for structured cognitive engagement appropriate for secondary learners who are expected to analyze, interpret, and evaluate increasingly complex texts.
Based on these considerations, this study recommends Digitized and Contextualized Reading Pathways as an intervention which involves scaffolded and context-related reading activities, as well as cognitive and metacognitive strategies like predicting, questioning, inferencing, summarizing, monitoring, and reflection. The purpose of these activities is to make reading more meaningful, thus enhancing comprehension and inferencing abilities, as well as metacognition. This study seeks to find out whether the proposed intervention will be effective for Grade 10 learners of Ibajay Integrated School and to provide information which can be used in developing effective literacy interventions for secondary learners.
This research study endeavors to find out how effective structured and contextualized reading pathways in improving the literacy skills of Grade 10 students of Ibajay Integrated School considering their reading comprehension, inference making, and use of metacognitive strategies. The study will seek to answer the following questions: What is the level of literacy skills of the Grade 10 students considering the Pretest Scores when they are subjected to Conventional Instruction and Innovative Instruction through the Use of Digitized and Contextualized Reading Pathways?, What is the level of literacy skills of the Grade 10 students considering the Posttest Scores when they are subjected to Conventional Instruction and Innovative Instruction through the Use of Digitized and Contextualized Reading Pathways?, Are there significant differences in the level of literacy skills among Grade 10 pupils based on pre-test scores when taught with Conventional Instruction and Innovative Instruction through the Use of Digitized and Contextualized Reading Pathways?, Are there significant differences in the level of literacy skills between Grade 10 learners using post-test scores when instructed using the following techniques: Conventional Teaching and Innovative Teaching through the Use of Digitized and Contextualized Reading Paths?, Are there significant differences in the level of literacy skills using pre- test and post-test scores of Grade 10 learners using Conventional Teaching? Lastly, are there significant differences in the level of literacy skills using pre- test and post-test scores of Grade 10 learners using Innovative Teaching through Digitized and Contextualized Reading Pathways?
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