Bachelor of Elementary Education, Cordova Public College
Student Research
This study described the literacy barriers to effective tutoring from the perspectives of ARAL tutors in selected elementary schools in Cordova, Cebu, during the school year 2025–2026, focusing on the challenges encountered in delivering literacy instruction under the ARAL Program. This study employed a descriptive-survey research design using a mixed-method approach, involving a total enumeration of 70 ARAL tutors from San Miguel Elementary School, Pilipog Elementary School, Cogon Elementary School, and Ibabao Elementary School, with data gathered through a validated questionnaire consisting of structured survey items and open-ended questions and analyzed using means, standard deviations, and thematic analysis. The results revealed that the major literacy barriers were poor reading comprehension, limited instructional materials, and insufficient tutoring time, which were consistently experienced by tutors across the selected schools, while additional findings highlighted challenges such as learner absenteeism, lack of interest, and multi-grade level tutoring that further affected instructional effectiveness. Overall, the study showed that these barriers significantly hindered the smooth implementation and effectiveness of the ARAL Program in improving learners’ literacy skills. It concluded that despite the program’s strong objectives, its effectiveness is limited by resource and instructional constraints faced by tutors. It is therefore recommended that the Department of Education and school stakeholders strengthen instructional support, provide adequate learning materials, enhance tutor training, and promote collaborative efforts among teachers, parents, and the community to improve the overall implementation of the ARAL Program.
Literacy barriers, ARAL tutors, tutoring effectiveness
Cordova Public College
[1] D. G. C. ABING, R. A. ANDALES, S. L. ALCANTARA, K. T. ALCOSER, F. B. AMASULA, and J. B. ANER, “LITERACY BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE TUTORING: PERSPECTIVES OF ARAL TUTORS,” unpublished student research, Cordova Public College, 2026.
