Magister Educationis - MEd / Drawing on the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study - PIRLS (Howie, et al., 2008), which highlights the reading literacy crisis in South African schools, this study investigated the literacy crisis in relation to reading literacy in Grade Four of the Intermediate Phase. The purpose of the study is to contribute to the debate about challenges around the reading literacy acquisition of South African school children by investigating the current teaching and assessing of reading comprehension practices of language teachers in multilingual Grade Four classes in disadvantaged contexts, focusing on reading comprehension in English and Afrikaans Home language. This study uses a qualitative research approach. Data was collected in Grade Four Afrikaans and English Home Language classes at two schools in the Western Cape, using observation, interviews and document analysis. To analyze the data, the study aligns itself with a learner-centered model (Wilhelm 2004). This learner-centered model draws on Vygotsky’s socio-cultural and constructivist teaching and learning approaches and will be the foundation to analyze current teaching and assessing of reading comprehension practices of language teachers in the Grade Four Afrikaans and English Home Language classes at two multilingual schools focusing on teachers’ questioning skills. It is hoped that this study will contribute to an understanding of the current reading literacy crisis experienced in South African schools and inform more effective teacher training.

In my thesis is focused on the development of the reading literacy to primary school across the curriculum. The aim of my thesis is to explore the possibilities of development of the reading literacy in all school subjects and across them and identify or solve the obstacles in the process. In the individual chapters of the theoretical part it defines the key terms literacy, reading literacy, school subjects and reading. I am trying to present reading literacy as a means to understand the various relationships between the general phenomena and as an input to various educational fields. It presents here the different methods specific to the development of the reading literacy. In the practical part deals with the development of the reading literacy across the curriculum and across them. The focus is mainly on subjects czech language and literature, mathematics, man and his world, art and music. The practical part consists of two parts. The first part contains processed responses of teachers from the survey and the second part contains the results of the work of pupils from the learning process. The practical part of my thesis provides a variety of examples from practice to the development of the reading literacy across the curriculum. Further, there are the possibilities of the development of the...

The thesis deals with initial reading literacy in the first and second grade of elementary schools. The theoretical part defines the basic concepts related to the reading literacy. Some major studies, published from 1996 till 2015 and dealing with the reading literacy development are introduced further. The research chapter describes the qualitative research metodology identifies research goals and hypotheses, presents the timing of the research and the research sample. The methodological recommendations based on the data analysis obtained from the survey were organized into a handbook usable for all teachers. The whole research is summarized in the final chapter, the hypothesis have been confirmed . The answer to the key question, "How is the initial reading literacy developed by the teachers in the reading instruction?" revealed that the trend in the initial reading literacy development is the gradual comprehensive development of all the reading competences levels with the emphasis on the communication skills from the first school day. KEYWORDS core competencies, curriculum, educational programme, initial reading literacy, levels of reading literacy, reading literacy

Across international boundaries, linguistic and cultural diversity among pupils present teachers with pedagogic challenges. Research on teachers’ perceptions (e.g. Pajares, 1992; Woods, 1996; Farrell, 2005) suggests that the beliefs that teachers hold impact significantly on their classroom practices. This study adds to the existing body of international literature on teacher beliefs and literacy practices by exploring teachers’ perceptions about the reading literacy needs of EAL pupils and how these were met in Scottish secondary mainstream classroom contexts. In Scotland, policy specifies a Framework for Inclusion where pupils learning English as an additional language (hereafter EAL) are placed in mainstream classrooms. Schools are encouraged to play a key role in making sure that the needs of such pupils are addressed in an effort to raise achievement. A sociocultural theoretical lens was used to examine the shared and divergent beliefs and reading literacy practices of sixteen mainstream English teachers; five EAL teachers; and five head/depute head teachers across three local authorities. Participants’ responses communicated an undifferentiated understanding of the distinctive reading literacy needs of EAL pupils. The majority of teachers foregrounded reading as a set of universal skills that emphasised a knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Ill-fitting policies and teachers’ experiences within the varying school contexts appeared to mediate how EAL pupils’ needs were constructed. Findings concerning the beliefs and practices of these teachers revealed that there was a lack of available ways of thinking about how to meet the reading literacy needs of EAL pupils effectively; such a lack impacted on the quality and number of learning opportunities EAL pupils had as they faced the reading literacy demands of mainstream classrooms. Teachers also highlighted their uncertainty about how to meet the reading literacy needs of such pupils effectively and this seemed to impact on how they constructed their identities as teachers within linguistically and culturally diverse classroom settings. In contrast, an overview of classroom literacy practices revealed that teachers enacted confident identities as they operated out of a secure knowledge base for developing reading literacy in monolingual English speaking classrooms. The study concludes with a discussion of the limitations related to the research design, and outlines the implications of the findings for policy, classroom literacy practices, and teachers’ professional development opportunities. It is argued that Scottish schools are no longer monolingual, monocultural environments, but rather cross-cultural sites. It is recommended that policy needs to reconceptualise and broaden how second language development is framed within its documents. It is also suggested that secondary classroom contexts address the importance of multidimensional critical literacy practices as a way to challenge the dominant undifferentiated constructions that permeate teachers’ beliefs about the development of reading literacy for pupils learning EAL. Such changes would position EAL pupils as legitimate participants in classroom literacy practices. The thesis concludes with a consideration of teacher identity and emphasises the need of ITE providers to provide a continuum of provision for pre-service and in-service teachers to enable them to develop the necessary knowledge and practices that would support the growing numbers of pupils learning EAL.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2000. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-176). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Examensarbetets övergripande syfte är att undersöka om resultatet av de internationella undersökningarna angående pojkars läsintresse och läskompetens stöds eller inte stöds av lärare och bibliotekspersonal och på vilka sätt detta kommer till uttryck. I examensarbetet redogörs för en avgränsad tidigare forskning kring ämnet med utgångspunkt i genus och maskulinitetsstudier. De senaste årens lästester genomförda av PISA och PIRLS visar på ett gap mellan finlandssvenska flickors och pojkars läskompetens. I jämförelse med de övriga deltagande länderna var skillnaden mellan pojkars och flickors läskompetens störst i Finland och de svensktalande pojkarna presterade betydligt sämre än de finsktalande. Metoden som använts i examensarbetet är kvalitativ intervju. I studien deltog sju klasslärare, två specialpedagoger samt två bibliotekarier. Studien visade bland annat att lärarna är oense om huruvida det stämmer att pojkar har ett mindre läsintresse än flickor, alla är heller inte överrens om att det är viktigt att prioritera arbetet med pojkars läsintresse utan anser det viktigare att se eleverna på individnivå. Flera lärare nämner samarbetet med biblioteket och hemmet som viktig i arbetet med att bidra till pojkars läsintresse. Många menar även att dagens teknik med iPads och datorer är en stor resurs i att fånga elever som kanske inte är så intresserade av böcker. Flera olika metoder användes dock på skolorna för att bidra till elevernas läsintresse, bland annat ordnades läsnätter, besök av läsande förebilder, högläsning i klassen samt bokcirklar och parläsning.

Denna studie handlar om lärares förståelse av läsundervisning samt deras tankar kring resultaten i PIRLS. Då både Sverige och England fått bättre resultat i PIRLS samt att de arbetar med olika metoder är det intressant att höra tankar kring läsundervisningen och elevers läsförmåga ifrån både svenska och engelska lärare. Detta är spännande då det i denna studie framgår att trots att lärarna i de båda änderna använder olika metoder för att främja elevers läsutveckling har de likartade tankar kring läsundervisning. För att få syn på lärares förståelse av läsundervisning analyseras lärarnas beskrivningar av läsinlärningens genomförande och mål. En kvalitativ studie genomfördes utifrån empirisk data insamlade via semistrukturerade intervjuer. I studien används sociokulturellt perspektiv för att analysera och diskutera resultatet. Resultatet visar att lärarna i just denna studie beskriver att elever läser för lite hemma samt att eleverna inte är intresserade av att läsa vilket har konsekvenser för läsundervisningen.

Emphasis has been placed nationally and internationally by parents, schools and communities on reading literacy skills as it is essential to be able to participate in today’s society. Reading and literacy skills underpin literacy in formal schooling. However in order for children to cope in formal schooling, children should fist acquire the necessary informal and formal literacy skills. These literacy skills can be developed through early literacy experiences gained within the home context. The home environment plays a vital role in the development and acquisition of children’s reading and literacy skills. It is the researcher’s intention to ascertain the role that the home environment and parental attributes play in influencing the reading literacy achievement of South African Grade 5 learners by conducting a secondary analysis utilising a standard multiple regression analysis (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007) of the Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) 2006 data. PIRLS collected data using contextualised questionnaires to gain valuable background information. This study utilised the Learning-to-Read survey (a questionnaire which was completed by the parents or caregivers) in order to study the home environment as well as parental attributes. The conceptual framework of the study comprises home environment and parental attributes which might have an influence on learner reading literacy achievement. The study adapted Myrberg & Rosén’s (2008) model of direct and indirect influences of parental factors on reading achievement as there is absence of a South African model which looks at both the home environment and parent attributes. The study hopes to provide insights through its findings, whether the home environment and parental attributes have an effect on learner reading performance. Particular focus has been placed on parental involvement since it is imperative to establish whether involvement is important for learner reading literacy. Reading literacy is an interactive process and it is clear that a learner will be able to perform at best when guidance is given in a cultural context. Parents, who actively take part in not only their children’s upbringing but their children’s literacy skills, can make an important contribution to their children’s reading literacy. There are cases in South Africa where parents are poorly educated but it did not stop them in inculcating a positive attitude towards reading literacy into their children. Parental involvement is therefore of great importance in children’s development of reading literacy skills. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / National Research Foundation (NRF) / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / Centre for Evaluation & Assessment (CEA) / MEd / Unrestricted

The study aims to determine the effect of parental involvement on the reading literacy abilities of Grade 4 learners. Literacy is a fundamental skill needed to successfully function in a country’s economy, as well as broader society. The acquisition of literacy is a complex and difficult process, where several factors can have an effect. One of the most important factors in the acquisition of literacy, is parental involvement. Many initiatives have been launched in South Africa to get parents involved in their child’s acquisition of literacy, such as the Family Literacy Project and Nal’ibali. Both of these initiatives aim to improve learners’ literacy through parental involvement. In order to determine the effect of parental involvement on the reading literacy abilities learners, this study focused on selected variables from the PreProgress in International Reading Literacy Study (prePIRLS) 2011, notably from the parental responses and Grade 4 learners reading literacy achievement results. This study took the form of a secondary data analysis while specifically using descriptive and multiple regression techniques to measure the effect of parental involvement and the parental level of education on learner reading achievement. The conceptual framework of the study consists of parental involvement and the parental level of education which might have an effect on the reading literacy ability of Grade 4 learners. The study adapted Epstein’s six types of parental involvement (1992, 1994), as well as Myrberg and Rosén’s (2008) path model of direct and indirect influences of parental education on learners’ reading achievement. This study found that higher levels of parental education, as well as higher levels of parental involvement can be associated with higher reading literacy achievement results. Therefore parental involvement is of great importance in children’s development of reading literacy skills. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / Centre for Evaluation & Assessment (CEA) / MEd / Unrestricted

Post-Apartheid South Africa has undergone an educational language policy shift from only Afrikaans and English in education to the representation of all 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, siSwati, Sesotho, Setswana, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. The national languages policy included the Language in Education Policy (LiEP), which stipulates that learners from grades 1- 3 in all ways possible should be provided the opportunity to be taught in their home language (HL). With this change, there has been a need to increase access to African languages in education. The 2007 Status of LoLT report released by the Department of Education (DoE) revealed that since 1996 up to 65% of learners in the foundation phase are being taught in their home language. In other ways, the LiEP has been successful in bridging the gap of access to African languages in the basic education system. With that said, there has been rapid growth of interest in early childhood crosscultural literacy assessment across the globe. Internationally South Africa has participated in the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality as well as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study studies. The design of these particular international studies meant participation in the same assessment but in different languages, calling into question the equivalence of assessments across languages. Assessing across languages should aim to encourage linguistic equivalence, functioning equivalence, cultural equivalence as well as metric equivalence. South Africa has taken part in three cycles of the Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) study. The purposes of the current study is to present secondary analysis of the prePIRLS 2011 data, to investigate any differential item functioning (DIF) of the achievement scores between English and isiXhosa. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) developed a framework of input, process and output for curriculum process. The framework shows the multiple facets that needs to be considered when implementing a curriculum in a country. The curriculum process framework was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The framework views curriculum success as a process of measuring how the intended curriculum (input) was implemented (process) and should be reflected in the attained curriculum (output). The adapted framework is LiEP as the attained curriculum, as learners in the prePIRLS 2011 are tested in the LoLT in Grades 1-3. Followed by the prePIRLS 2011 assessment, as the implemented curriculum testing the learners’ comprehension skills requires by grade 4 in their HL. Lastly, the attained curriculum refers the learners’ achievement scores in the prePIRLS 2011 study. A sample of 819 Grade 4 learners (539 English L1 speaking learners and 279 isiXhosa L1 speakign learners) that participated in the prePIRLS 2011 study were included in this study. These learners wrote a literary passage called The Lonely Giraffe, accompanied by 15 items. The study made use of the Rasch model to investigate any evidence of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) on the reading achievement of the learners. The findings showed that the items did not reflect an equal distribution. In addition, an item by item DIF analysis revealed discrimination on one subgroup over the other. A further investigation showed that these discriminations could be explained by means of inaccurate linguistic equivalence. The linguistic equivalence could be explained by means of mistranslation and/or dialectal differences. Subsequently, the complexities of dialects in African languages are presented by providing isiXhosa alternative translations to the items. The significance of the current study is in its potential contribution in further understanding language complexities in large-scale assessments. Additionally, in attempts to provide valid, reliable and fair assessment data across sub-groups. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / Centre for Evaluation & Assessment (CEA) / MEd / Unrestricted