Technical and Vocational Strand-Based Worktext for Improving Reading Competence of Grade 12 Learners

Mastering the English language is important, with literacy playing a key role. Inadequate functional literacy among learners contributes to the high incidence of school dropout rates in the Philippines. Reading competence is a specific indicator of literacy. It is essential not only for academic purposes but also for everyday life. The main goal of this study was to assess how effective is technical and vocational strand-based worktexts for improving the reading competence of the grade 12 learners. A quantitative approach, quasi-experimental design was employed by the researcher to treat the data on (1) pre-test and post-test scores of the respondents in reading, and a descriptive research design was utilized for (2) assessing the challenges experienced by the teachers in teaching reading among senior high school learners. The researcher collected data among grade 12 students enrolled in academic year 2021-2022, in a technical and vocational public secondary school. The results revealed that grade 12 learners received a mean score of 10.58 with a standard deviation of 2.99 on their pre-test in reading, while they obtained a mean score of 17.42 with a standard deviation of 3.08 on the post-test. The computed T-value was 17.47, and the critical T-value was 0.000 at the 0.05 level of significance. Hence, the decision to reject the hypothesis indicates that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores in reading among the student-respondents. The study suggested utilizing strand-based worktexts and developing reading materials across levels to improve students' reading competence.