Empowering Urban-Riverbank Mothers: Boosting Early Childhood Literacy Through Interactive Card Games in Banjarmasin

Abstract

Early childhood literacy constitutes a foundational pillar of human capital development, yet its cultivation remains uneven across socioeconomic strata, particularly in geographically marginalized communities. Urban-riverbank settlements in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, represent one such community where mothers of young children (aged 4-6 years) face compounded challenges: limited access to educational resources, low awareness of early literacy stimulation strategies, and constrained household economies that preclude the purchase of commercial learning media. This community service program aimed to empower these mothers by enhancing their capacity to facilitate early childhood literacy at home through the introduction, fabrication, and application of interactive card games as low-cost, culturally accessible literacy tools. Employing a Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework, the program was implemented across three structured phases: needs assessment and preparation, hands-on training workshops, and guided mentoring with post-program evaluation. Data were gathered through structured observation, pre- and post-test questionnaires, and in-depth interviews, then analyzed using Miles and Huberman's interactive analysis model. Results demonstrated a significant improvement in maternal knowledge of early literacy stimulation practices, with post-test scores reflecting an 85% average gain over baseline. Children's engagement with literacy activities increased markedly, characterized by intrinsic motivation and sustained attention during card-based play sessions. Furthermore, a community of literacy-conscious mothers was organically established, ensuring program sustainability beyond the intervention period. These findings affirm that interactive card games, when embedded within a participatory maternal empowerment framework, constitute an effective and replicable strategy for advancing early childhood literacy outcomes in underserved urban communities.