Literature indicates that there is a national outcry about learners who read below the required levels and that poor matriculation results are, in part, due to the low levels of learners’ reading skills. The focus of this study is reading difficulties experienced by learners in the Foundation Phase in inclusive schools in Makapanstad. The researcher used a qualitative method for the study. The case study research design was adopted for the study. Three schools in Makapanstad were sampled for the study. Empirical investigation was conducted through literature study, observations, interviews and document analysis. There is a worldwide concern with regard to learners’ low reading levels. The study explores the extensive models, methods and theories on reading, the strategies that could be used to teach reading in the Foundation Phase to alleviate or improve reading difficulties experienced by learners, as well as the findings and recommendations towards minimising the reading difficulties in primary schools. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

This thesis focuses on the use of the mother tongue in foreign language teaching and learning. Recently there has been a notable shift towards promoting the use of the mother tongue. The theoretical part of the thesis maps the attitudes to the mother tongue in current literature as well as the suggested ways of its use in the classroom. The practical part attempts to analyse the students' attitudes towards the incorporation of Czech into English learning and teaching and their experience with its use from their secondary schools. To obtain the data, an online questionnaire was employed. The respondents are first- and second-year students of English and American studies who are expected to be able to analyse both the advantages and disadvantages of using Czech. The practical part focuses on the efficiency of Czech in comparison with English, ways of presenting grammar and vocabulary, the relation between the mother tongue use and the proficiency of students, and learning strategies of the respondents. Based on the analysis, suggestions regarding the mother tongue use are presented in the conclusion.

The study focuses on problems which appear to be fundamental in primary school education. The work si centred on reading and readerś literacy in primary school. The work is also focused on issues that seem to be fundamental in European school education and current development of Czech primary school. Subject of this study is to present educational policy and educational system of Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom, which represent three different types of school structure. It provides a more comprehensive view of the current issues of educational policy - fairness in school education, language training, integration of troubled students, integration of immigrants and the position of teacher. The final section contains an analysis of the results of PIRLS in Germany, Sweden, Great Britain and the Czech Republic.

This thesis raises the question of what represents a "reading experience" in the didactic context. It focuses on both the mapping of didactical literature that is available in the Czech environment, and on how to work with the "reading experience" during the Czech language and literature classes. It further presents specific suggestions and comments about how to work on reading of selected texts in the classroom. Primarily, the thesis focuses on education in the sixth grade of primary schools.

This study investigated the factors affecting the teaching of English reading skills in a second language of Grade 3 learners in three primary schools, in Ongwediva town of Oshana Regional Education Directorate in Northern Namibia. It also investigated methods and approaches that were used to promote the teaching of reading in English as a second language and the linguistic environment of the classroom in which the teaching of reading occurs. Classroom environments were observed and telephonic interview was conducted with the circuit inspector of the three schools selected. Individual interviews were also done with the principals, Grade 3 teachers and Grade 3 learners of the three chosen schools. Focus group interview was also done with the same Grade 3 teachers. This study found out that insufficient reading books, poor teaching methods, insufficient teachers’ and learners’ interactions and overcrowded classrooms were some of the factors that made the teaching of reading unsuccessful. From the interviews of the circuit inspector, principals and teachers it was revealed that inadequate teacher training workshops for teachers teaching English reading, lack of parental involvement, low budget allocation to Primary Education and lack of reading capacity in vernacular affected the teaching of reading negatively. The outcome of learners’ interviews indicated that phonemic awareness and lack of comprehension created reading problems. Given the factors referred above, it is recommended that more interesting readers should be purchased to solve the shortage of reading materials. In addition, more effective teachers’ workshops should be given to strengthen the teachers’ approaches to reading skills development for Grade 3 learners. / M. Ed. (with specialisation in Early Childhood Development) / Educational Studies

Resultaten av de internationella undersökningarna PISA 2011 och PIRLS 2011 visar att de svenska elevernas resultat inom läsförståelse försämrats. I Skolinspektionen granskning framkommer det att diskussioner och textsamtal har en relativt liten del av undervisningen av läsförståelse i Sverige idag. Tidigare forskning har ringat in fyra metoder som anses effektivast för elevers utveckling av läsförståelse. Textsamtal, diskussioner och reflektioner har avgörande roller inom alla fyra undervisningsmetoder. Syftet med denna studie är att synliggöra hur sex lärare tänker kring, samt konkret arbetar med, undervisningen av läsförståelse, för att se om de fyra metoderna går att återfinna i de sex lärarnas undervisning. Metoderna som används är semistrukturerade intervjuer samt strukturerade observationer. Resultatet av studien visar att den strategiinriktade undervisningen dominerar undervisningen bland de sex lärarna, och att innehållsorienterad undervisning, vilken visats effektivast i forskningen, är ytterst begränsad. Samtidigt beskriver samtliga lärare att samtal och diskussioner bör vara en stor del av undervisningen inom läsförståelse. En slutsats av studien är att synen på undervisningen av läsförståelse varierar mellan de sex lärarna, samt att allt undervisningsmaterial är baserat på läsförståelsestrategier. Dock förekommer knappt diskussioner och samtal i samband med undervisningen av strategier, vilket är en viktig del för att arbetet med strategiinriktad undervisning ska kunna utveckla elevernas läsförståelse på bästa sätt. / <p>Svenska</p>

The aim of the present study was to find out what qualities teachers look for in apps for reading development, what qualities researchers think an app should possess, and whether the apps that teachers use have these qualities. To achieve this purpose, teachers in grades 1–3 were asked to complete a questionnaire and three educational apps were analysed with the aid of questions based on Sjödén’s (2015) dissertation “What makes good educational software?” The questions were used to study the contexts representation, interaction and social positioning. The results of the study showed that the three most desirable qualities in an educational app are that it should motivate pupils, that it should be linked to the learning goals, and that it should give pupils an opportunity to work independently. The analysis showed that the three most frequently used apps had the qualities that the teachers considered most significant and also the qualities that research has found essential in an educational app. The apps mostly elicited positive responses to the analysis questions, but there were defects in the concretizing potential of the apps, and none of them enabled social interaction through the assumption of character roles. The conclusions show that, despite the qualities of the apps, the teacher is indispensable in the teaching of reading with apps, and to choose a good educational app teachers should use the analysis in the study as a foundation but also integrate their own experience of teaching.

Literature indicates that there is a national outcry about learners who read below the required levels and that poor matriculation results are, in part, due to the low levels of learners’ reading skills. The focus of this study is reading difficulties experienced by learners in the Foundation Phase in inclusive schools in Makapanstad. The researcher used a qualitative method for the study. The case study research design was adopted for the study. Three schools in Makapanstad were sampled for the study. Empirical investigation was conducted through literature study, observations, interviews and document analysis. There is a worldwide concern with regard to learners’ low reading levels. The study explores the extensive models, methods and theories on reading, the strategies that could be used to teach reading in the Foundation Phase to alleviate or improve reading difficulties experienced by learners, as well as the findings and recommendations towards minimising the reading difficulties in primary schools. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Elementary students from low socioeconomic households often begin and remain behind other socioeconomic groups in vocabulary knowledge. Many reasons for this gap, including cognitive, environmental, and educational, have been researched. The current study examined the relationship between vocabulary knowledge, socioeconomic status, and type of teacher discourse within an early elementary setting not yet explored within the research. This concurrent mixed-method research study investigated this relationship using study groups, taped classroom lessons, and the DIBELS word use fluency assessment measure. Interpretative analysis was used for the qualitative data, and correlational analysis was used to determine relationships between the discourse types and the DIBELS word use fluency growth scores. The quantitative results suggested that as two-way teacher-student conversation increased, vocabulary knowledge in students from low socioeconomic households also increased. The qualitative results indicated that lesson reflection alters teachers' perceptions of discourse beliefs. The findings of this study initiate social change by assuring quality professional development methods so that all teachers use effective communication along with best practices. These improved techniques may result in every child gaining an equal opportunity to learn how to read successfully and may assist in closing the socioeconomic achievement gap.

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