ABSTRACT
This study aimed to investigate the effect of Project CULTURA-K on the early reading skills of kindergarten pupils at Laurel Central School for school year 2024-2025. It determined the pre and post-assessment results of pupils in terms of knowledge of letter-sound correspondence, ability to decode consonant-vowel-consonant words, and ability to decode Filipino sight words; find out the significant difference between the pupils’ pre and postassessment results; identify the difficulties encountered by kindergarten teachers in implementing Project CULT-K; and assess project efficiency as perceived by the school project team. The study utilized one-group pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design. Participants were 86 kindergarten pupils, while 4 project team members served as secondary respondents. Reading skills were assessed using teacher-prepared assessment, and interviews were conducted to gather information on challenges and project efficiency. Results revealed significant improvement in pupils’ early reading skills after the implementation of Project CULTURA-K. Knowledge of lettersound correspondence increased from 4 or 5% to 76 or 88%, ability to decode consonant-vowel-consonant words improved from 0% to 71 or 83%, and ability to decode Filipino sight words rose from 0% to 56 or 65%. Teachers reported pupils’ negative attitude toward reading and less parent involvement as primary difficulties. Project implementation was efficient as revealed, although parental support remained a challenge. Overall, Project CULTURAK found to be an effective intervention in enhancing kindergarten pupils’ early reading skills. It is recommended that Project CULTURA-K be sustained through strengthened parent coaching, reading motivation activities, and regular assessment to improve pupils’ early reading skills.
Keywords: Project CULTURA-K, early reading skills, letter-sound correspondence, CVC words, kindergarten, reading intervention