Non-Major Teachers’ Stories of Teaching Reading Sub-Skills in ARAL Tutorial Sessions in SDO Las Piñas: A Narrative Inquiry

Abstract

The study examined how non-major teacher-tutors in SDO Las Piñas narrated their experiences of selecting and teaching reading sub-skills during ARAL tutorial sessions in School Year 2025–2026. It used a qualitative narrative inquiry design. Through criterion-based purposive sampling, eight non-major teacher-tutors who had handled ARAL reading tutorials in public secondary schools in SDO Las Piñas were selected as participants. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and examined through narrative analysis. Labov’s structural elements of abstract, orientation, complicating action, evaluation, resolution, and coda guided the organization of the accounts, followed by restorying, within-story analysis, cross-story comparison, and interpretation through temporality, sociality, and place. Borg’s Teacher Cognition Framework, the Active View of Reading, and the High-Impact Tutoring Framework guided the interpretation. The findings showed that the participants entered ARAL with different levels of preparation and confidence and adjusted instruction when learners showed difficulty in decoding, fluency, vocabulary, or comprehension. Their decisions commonly followed a process of observing learner signs, identifying an immediate reading need, selecting a sub-skill, applying a response, and deciding whether to continue, repeat, simplify, shift, consult, or refer. These choices were shaped by teacher preparation, learner readiness, attendance, time, workload, materials, group composition, language difficulty, and program support. The participants justified their actions through learner-responsive, practical, and role-based judgment, but they differed in confidence, reliance on manuals, use of translation, acceptance of the tutor role, and preference for specialist assistance. Based on the recurring patterns, the study proposed the Narrative-Informed ARAL Reading Tutorial Support Guide for Non-Major Teacher-Tutors. The guide included a reading-need check, focused instructional supports, learner-response records, mentoring procedures, and referral indicators for persistent difficulties. The study recommended practical reading training, suitable materials, manageable schedules and groups, continuing coaching, clear referral procedures, and further research using classroom observations, learner assessments, and pilot evaluation of the proposed guide. The study aligns with SDG 4 on quality education by supporting more responsive reading recovery practices and contributes to educational and institutional sustainability through improved tutorial decision-making and program support.