Reading Habituation Management for Improving Students’ Literacy: A Systemic Multi-Case Study in Rural Primary Schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59944/postaxial.v4i1.2106Keywords:
Reading habits, Literacy management, School leadership, Literacy culture, Primary schoolsAbstract
Literacy is widely recognized as a foundational competence that shapes students’ academic achievement and long-term learning capacity, yet many primary schools struggle to translate literacy policy into sustained reading culture. While prior research predominantly frames literacy improvement as a pedagogical or cultural issue, limited attention has been given to conceptualizing reading habituation as a structured educational management system. This study aims to analyze and model the management of reading habituation in improving students’ literacy in two rural public primary schools in Cianjur Regency, Indonesia. Employing a qualitative multiple-case study design, the research involved principals, teachers, students, and parents selected purposively based on their involvement in literacy programs. Data were collected through non-participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, and analyzed using an interactive model encompassing data condensation, display, and verification, followed by cross-case comparison. The findings reveal that effective literacy improvement emerges from an integrated managerial cycle consisting of structured planning, participatory organization, consistent implementation of daily reading routines, qualitative evaluation, adaptive follow-up, and contextual problem-solving. Despite differences in resource availability and managerial formalization, both schools sustained reading culture through leadership commitment, collaborative teacher engagement, and strategic adaptation to infrastructural constraints. The study formulates a systemic input–process–output–outcome framework demonstrating that managerial coherence and adaptive capacity mediate the relationship between structural conditions and literacy outcomes. Theoretically, this research advances literacy discourse by positioning reading habituation as a cyclical managerial ecosystem that integrates educational management functions with engagement-based literacy principles. Practically, it provides a context-sensitive model for strengthening school literacy governance in resource-diverse primary education settings.
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