During the 1990s, many low-income countries were committed to the United Nations Education for All (EFA) goals of ensuring universal access to primary education and learners’ completion of all primary grades (Gove & Wetterberg 2011:1). Since then some countries, including South Africa, have made impressive strides towards expanded access to schooling. Much of the progress has stemmed from additional inputs such as classrooms, educators, and textbooks and this has created the assumption that with sufficient inputs, learning will naturally flow. However, increases in enrollment rates alone have not always translated into high quality education or even basic learning. Additionally, South Africa’s unique politically burdened history has had profound effects on the education system. Due to its multifarious population and the amalgamation of various sectors, including education, the Department of Basic Education was and still is faced with the daunting challenge of providing quality education to its diverse citizens. This has resulted in the establishment of multiracial, multilingual, and multicultural schools. The corollary is that schools have become more inclusive. However, the ability of South Africa to educate its learners cannot be measured by access to schooling or enrollment rates alone, but rather by its ability to impart to learners the knowledge and skills necessary to function as literate and numerate members of the broader society. Within the context of EFA several international organisations began to conduct early grade reading assessments in many developing countries in Africa and Asia. These studies include SACMEQ, PIRLS and prePIRLS, EGRA, and ASER. The aim of these assessments is to facilitate the expansion of quality education by providing the necessary data to monitor educational quality, and by improving the research capacity and technical skills of educational planners. Within the context of major transitions throughout the world, the organisations mentioned above perspicaciously focused on countries that encounter major challenges in literacy. The extensive studies on reading and writing that were conducted by some of these organisations amplify the crisis in education and the plight of early grade learners. Nationally and internationally the situation appears to be relatively bleak, especially for L2 learners. Literacy, specifically reading literacy, forms the backbone of scholastic success at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and research consistently shows that learners who are good readers also tend to perform well academically (Pretorius & Machet 2004:129). Emanating from the above, this study focused on the factors that affect foundation phase English second language learners’ reading and writing skills. The study was conducted at five English medium primary schools in Port Shepstone. A literature study on second language acquisition and the factors that impact on the English second language learners’ reading and writing achievements was undertaken. Furthermore, the expansion of the English language, the significance of the primary language in second language acquisition, insights and issues focusing on bilingualism and multilingualism, theories on second language acquisition, reading and writing in the home language, and factors related to English second language learners’ reading and writing achievements were examined. A mixed-method research design was utilised. In order to obtain an in-depth perspective both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to collect data from foundation phase educators, and the parents of isiZulu-speaking foundation phase learners. Survey questionnaires, which were the main research instruments for gathering data, were distributed to the parents of isiZulu-speaking learners and the educators. Additionally, individual interviews were conducted with educators and reading and writing observations were also conducted. Quantitative data analysis was done by means of tables, frequencies, and graphs. Qualitative data was subjected to analysis by means of an eclectic approach. This study found that cultural, psychological, social, cognitive, school, and developmental factors do indeed affect the second language learners’ reading and writing skills. It was found that the learners’ home language background significantly affected their pronunciation of words in English, their ability to use phonics to read and write, and their ability to differentiate between male and female when writing sentences. Moreover, no specific model of acculturation was found to be apparent in this study. However, the processes of integration and separation did play a role in the learners’ acculturation. On the other hand, the processes of assimilation and maginalisation were not found amongst isiZulu-speaking learners. Two prominent psychological factors, anxiety and motivation, were apparent in this study. This study revealed that isiZulu-speaking learners do experience reading and writing anxiety but do not experience writing test anxiety. It was also found that isiZulu-speaking learners do enjoy reading in English and they demonstrate relatively positive attitudes towards reading. Their attitudes towards writing in English were somewhat varied. Although integrative motivation and instrumental motivation were seen to play a dual role in the learners’ experiences, the parents’ views were strongly influenced by instrumental motivation. IsiZulu-speaking learners have good social relationships with their peers. Educators affirmed that these learners interact relatively well with both their English-speaking peers and their isiZulu-speaking peers. The amiable relationships were also observed by the researcher during the classroom reading and writing observations. None of the isiZulu-speaking learners experienced social isolation or alienation at any of the five English medium schools. IsiZulu-speaking learners’ ability to speak and understand isiZulu is relatively good. However, their ability to read and write in isiZulu is generally poor. IsiZulu-speaking learners usually cope well with conversational skills in the English language. However, their ability to read English texts fluently with understanding and to write simple stories in English ranges from fair to poor. Generally, at the five schools similar approaches were used to teach reading and writing. The dominance of the phonic approach was observed during several reading lessons. In general, educators expressed their absolute dissatisfaction with the CAPS document and the CAPS English home language workbook. They were not content with the manner in which the phonics is structured in the CAPS workbook and document. Educators asserted that CAPS is too challenging for most isiZulu-speaking learners, too much of emphasis is placed on assessments, and due to the large learner/educator ratio educators experience frustration when teaching reading and writing. Educators emphasised the significance of Grade R attendance and the Grade R curriculum. Furthermore, they asserted that learners who enter Grade 1 at the age of five are not ready for formal schooling and they generally experience reading and writing difficulties. Moreover, this study reproduced those found in literature that showed that generally girls significantly outperform boys on reading and writing tasks. There were various reasons for the parents wanting their children to learn to read and write in English. Two of the prominent reasons advanced by the parents were: parents want their children to learn more than one language and learning English at school will help their children to continue their studies at colleges or universities. Overall, this study has demonstrated that the English language has significantly impacted on all aspects of the isiZulu-speaking foundation phase learners’ lives, and more especially has considerably influenced their reading and writing achievements at English medium schools. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chinese Language and Literature / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

Reading is an important capability to assist in learning. When students are promoted to higher levels at primary school, they have to read more informative texts instead of narrative texts. A number of studies have indicated that many primary school students have difficulty comprehending informative texts. The ways in which teachers structure lesson content and students experience the lesson are important in helping students understand informative texts in terms of genres and genre features. To help students take on the challenges arising from reading informative texts, teachers play a vital role in bringing students to encounter critical aspects of understanding informative texts and make it more possible for students’ discernment happen. In the light of this, this study aims to investigate how structures of lessons and patterns of variation and invariance affect the learning outcomes of students’ understanding of genres and the genre features of informative texts, and even their future learning. This study features a design-based approach to two rounds of trial lessons. Phenomenography and variation theory are adopted as the theoretical framework. In the first round of trial lessons, there were 38 students from a primary 6 class divided into 2 groups. One group was given a lesson which was structured both sequentially and hierarchically. The lesson for the other group was, however, framed in a hierarchical structure only. The former lesson emphasized the use of similar examples while the latter focused on the use of different examples to teach students the meaning of genre features of informative texts. In the second round, there were 39 students from a primary 5 class also divided into 2 groups. Although the structures of the lessons for the two groups were similar to those in the first round, the object of learning was to enhance students’ understanding of informative texts and the delayed post-test was conducted only in this round. The students in both rounds of trial lessons, who were from the same school, were taught by the same teacher. The data was analysed and triangulated with the post-lesson interview data and verbatim lesson record. The students’ different learning outcomes stemmed from the different structures of the lessons and the adoption of the patterns of variation and invariance. The students who had more opportunities to encounter the patterns of variation and invariance serving as contrasts tended to perform better than those who did not. The appropriate teaching arrangements enhanced students’ understanding of genre awareness and genre features, and contributed to generation of learning. The findings of this study support variation theory as a powerful pedagogical tool for improving students’ understanding of informative texts and enabling students to generate new learning after teacher instruction. One implication of the findings for teachers is that appropriate teaching arrangements, including the structure of a lesson and patterns of variation and invariance, are of paramount importance. As a result of such arrangements, students are more likely to develop a powerful way of reading informative texts. Teachers are instrumental in preparing the necessary conditions of learning. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study was concerned with determining the effectiveness of two methods of teaching arithmetic in the first grade. The primary dimension of this problem was to determine and compare the arithmetic achievement of an experimental group using the Cuisenaire program and the achievement of a control group using a conventional program for the purpose of finding which was the more efficient. The secondary dimension of the problem was to determine whether socio-economic status or sex affects the achievement which results from either the conventional or the Cuisenaire method of instruction.

M.Ed. / The identification and development of youthful leaders in the primary school is a complex matter. Firstly, pupil potential must be identified correctly and, secondly, this potential must be suitably developed. Proper management is essential if justice is to be done to this matter. In the primary school the Head of Department: Educational Guidance is the obvious person for the task of ensuring that the leaders' council comes into its own right.

This research aimed to understand the coaching experiences in the Gauteng Primary Literacy and Mathematics Strategy of 4 Foundation Phase teachers in 1 state school in Gauteng. It is a qualitative case study in an educational setting. The participants included 3 teachers, the Head of Department of the Foundation Phase, the coach and the coach’s supervisor. Interviews and observations of teachers’ lessons and of feedback sessions were the primary research instruments. The data was analysed using a model proposed by Ehrich, Hansford & Tennent (2001). The research found that the personal attributes and performance of the coach are important features in a successful coaching relationship. It also found that coaching appears to be making a positive contribution to these teachers’ understanding and interpretation of curriculum documents, as well as adding to their content knowledge and methodology. The study suggests that a focus on enhancing teachers’ reflective capacity, especially in relation to their pedagogy, may be a beneficial addition to current coaching practice.