Parental support and preschool: Do they matter for primary students' reading literacy? Evidence from six Southeast Asian countries.

This article examines the influence of parental attitudes towards learning and preschool attendance on Grade 5 students' reading literacy in six Southeast Asian countries—Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Viet Nam—using data from the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) 2019 assessment. Grounded in the educational prosperity framework, the study tests three hypotheses regarding the effects of socio-economic status (SES), parental attitudes, and preschool attendance on reading literacy, controlling for other factors such as gender, grade repetition, and teacher absenteeism. Results indicate that SES has the strongest positive effect on reading literacy, followed by parental attitudes and preschool attendance, with the latter significant in all countries except Myanmar. The findings support regional policy priorities promoting parental involvement and universal preschooling as effective strategies to enhance reading literacy outcomes in low- and middle-income Southeast Asian contexts.