Pre-Conditions of Solo Parents of the Kindergarten Learners
Keywords:
Academic Performance, Coping Mechanisms, Pre-conditions, Solo Parent, Solo Parents’ Guide PacketAbstract
The study was intended to examine the conditions necessary for solo parenting and the effects such preconditions bring on kindergarten learners' development and welfare. It revealed the demographic profile of solo parents and explored their relationship with their children's academic performance, behavioral status, and self-help skills. The findings demonstrated that parents' welfare and children's growth were influenced heavily by financial strain, low educational attainment, and unstable income. Whereas parental financial assistance and family support received a little assistance, there was an evident need for a broader social support program in the way of educational empowerment, vocational training, and mental service provision. Increased parental education and better financial status correlated with the learners’ improved academic performance, while the home environment and family size were of lesser influence. In contrast to the minimal effect of ICT tools employed in education on behavior and self-help skills, their positive influence on academic performance was considerable. The proposed Solo Parents' Guide Packet was in response to these issues and aimed to help foster early literacy skill development in kindergarten learners while facilitating solo parents in their personal and parenting challenges. The packet consisted of tips on finance management, emotional and mental wellbeing, and the Early Literacy Foundations for Kindergarten Workbook, which contained structured literacy activities in English and Cebuano. Its recommendations included a multidimensional support system revolving around educational, financial, community, and mental health resources. Implementing this system would have significantly benefited solo parents, and when integrated with the Solo Parents' Guide Packet, would have offered an overview of any welfare services delivered on a program that could empower solo parents to support their children's holistic growth and development.
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