The link between learner performance in early reading literacy and what is happening in the Grade 1 classroom

Abstract

Background: Developing reading skills depends on how learners are taught to read in the classroom. Previous research showed that academic achievement is strongly affected by pedagogical content knowledge and lack of appropriate professional development.

Aim: This article aims to examine the relationship between learner performance in early reading literacy and what is happening in the Grade 1 classroom.

Setting: The study was conducted in five different schools in Mopani district in the Limpopo province.

Methods: An exploratory mixed methods research design was used, where quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data collection and analysis. Five teachers who teach reading in Grade 1 classrooms were observed. Seventy-five Grade 1 learners were assessed twice (March and September 2018) in Xitsonga as the home language and as the first additional language using the early grade reading assessment toolkit.

Results: The quantitative results showed an improvement in scores from baseline to endline; however, this was not good enough, given that performance in all the reading measures was low and very slow, reflecting inadequate mastery of foundational reading skills by the end of Grade 1. The qualitative findings provided some insights into how this comes about. Although teachers made efforts to implement reading methodologies in line with the national curriculum, they showed lack of understanding of how early reading develops and how each of the reading activities contributes to different aspects of this development.

Conclusion: The present teachers’ understanding of early reading development and their enactments of reading in Grade 1 classrooms are insufficient to develop grade-level readers by the end of the year. Recommendations are made to help teachers improve their classroom practices.