The Cellfield reading intervention is based on the multi-deficit theory of reading difficulties and addresses several foundation skills of reading simultaneously. Existing research has confirmed that the Cellfield intervention leads to improvement in reading skill directly following the intervention, but little data exist to determine the…

Background: The Progress in International Reading and Literacy 2021 results draw stark attention to an ongoing crisis in primary education in South Africa. Research attempting to understand and address continued underperformance has focused on literacy learning and teaching in schools where the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) is the same…

Background: South African-structured reading programmes have been implemented in schools in South Africa. The Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS) is an education triple cocktail programme, which attempts to improve home language reading in a number of schools. Aim: The objective of this research was to find out how the educators involved in the…

In September 2015, the United Nations ratified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including a central goal to improve the quality of learning, and attain universal literacy. As part of this effort, the UN and other funding agencies see technology as a major enabling tool for achievement of the SDGs. However, little evidence exists concerning…

Research regarding the academic reading load experienced by first year students at universities in South Africa indicated that students are woefully under-prepared to deal with this load as they have limited reading experiences and strategies. This led to the implementation of an academic reading programme at a university of technology. In order…

Notwithstanding the substantial transformation of education in South Africa in the last 20 years, specifically to redress the past inequalities, the challenges are ongoing. These challenges include tertiary institutions having to accommodate a culturally and linguistically diverse group of students, often second-language (L2) English speakers, in…

Background: Dialogic book-sharing is an interactive form of shared reading. It has been shown in high income countries (HICs) to be of significant benefit to child cognitive development. Evidence for such benefit in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is scarce, although a feasibility study of our own produced encouraging findings.…

I report on teacher change in the context of a reading strategy instruction intervention. Reading Strategy Instruction (RSI) was implemented by three teachers, new to the concept, over a period of 15 weeks. Observations of these teachers showed that a multitude of factors affect the uptake of RSI as part of everyday teaching practice, and that…

This paper describes an intervention programme that was originally intended to support transition to English as language of learning and teaching (LoLT) in Grade 4 in a township school, using a pre- and post-test design. Because the pre-tests revealed very poor literacy levels in both Zulu home language and English, the intervention programme was…

This book highlights the experience of Liberia in both assessing and improving reading in primary schools. As a result of an Early Grade Reading Assessment, the Ministry of Education and partners, including the United States Agency for International Development, came together to identify and develop strategies for improving reading in schools.…