Exploring Literacy skills among Trainee Teachers and their effect on their Academic Achievement

Abstract

Teachers with well-developed literacy skills are positioned to transition to new education paradigms and to meet the existing students’ different educational demands. It therefore fills this gap by generating a body of knowledge on the relationships between literacy skills, academic performance, and preparedness to teach among trainee teachers. Literacy skills play a vital role in shaping the academic success and teaching effectiveness of trainee teachers. Therefore, the present study was aimed to determine effect of literacy skills on academic achievement of trainee teachers. The study was quantitative and correlation in nature. The population of the study was comprised of trainee teachers of undergraduate programs of Teacher Education Department/Institutions of all the universities of the Punjab. Propionate stratified sampling technique was used to collect data form 300 trainee teachers of undergraduate programs of education department/teacher education institutions of six public sector universities of the Punjab province. After detailed literature review, researchers developed a questionnaire to collect data from respondents. The study revealed significant differences in information literacy, technology literacy, and overall literacy skills, indicating that male trainee teachers had higher proficiency in these areas. The study also found significant differences in literacy skills were identified among trainee teachers from different universities, with Government College University (GC) Faisalabad outperforming others in all literacy categories, including media literacy, information literacy, technology literacy, and overall literacy skills. It was concluded that there was a moderate positive relationship between literacy skills and academic achievement. This indicates that trainee teachers with better literacy skills tend to perform better academically. Finally, it was recommended that educators must engage in ongoing professional development to keep abreast of the latest trends and tools in media, information, and technology literacy. Offering regular workshops, webinars, and collaborative opportunities for practicing teachers can facilitate lifelong learning and improve their competencies in these essential areas.