Reading is a powerful tool. It introduces children to new ideas. It shapes their academic journey and progress. It also equips them with skills to navigate the world, both at school and beyond.

Sadly, it’s estimated that more than 202 million children and young people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have age-appropriate reading, writing and numeracy skills. The region’s youth literacy rate (for people aged between 15 and 24) stands at about 77%. The global rate is 95%.

Namibia performs above the regional average, with a youth literacy rate of 91.5%. But challenges persist. Many children with language barriers and other reading-related issues are enrolled in mainstream classrooms alongside learners who are performing at the expected age level. Their issues are not necessarily severe enough to require enrolment in special schools, but they do need some extra guidance and support from teachers. However, not all teachers in mainstream schools have the necessary specialised training and support to effectively help non-readers in their classes.

Existing research indicates that even with limited formal training, experienced teachers can support non-readers by drawing upon their knowledge of learners and learning contexts.

To learn more about how teachers do this, we did a study of primary school teachers in Namibia. We wanted to understand what worked, and what didn’t, when they instructed non-reading students.

We found that teachers were using the right strategies, but they were not giving targeted attention to the non-readers in their classes. Rather, they were teaching the whole class in the same way. This left the non-readers struggling.

The study

The study focused on primary school teachers in the Ompundja circuit in Namibia’s Oshana region. They taught Grade 5s, aged on average between 10 and 11.

Oshikwanyama and English were the languages studied at the five public schools where we conducted our research, though most learners spoke Oshindonga as their home language. The schools were moderately resourced and the teachers who participated all held tertiary qualifications, ranging from diplomas to Masters degrees.

First we asked teachers to describe the methods they used to support students who struggled to read. Here’s what they told us.

Reinforcement was key. Teachers said they sought to consolidate non-readers’ prior knowledge and reinforce their existing skills and understanding. To do so, they used vocabulary board charts, pictures and word visuals that related to the comprehension passage that was studied. These approaches motivated the non-readers and helped them to concentrate better.

The teachers said they avoided diving straight into having students read the assigned texts. Instead, they read aloud to the class first. This allowed them to model fluent reading, introduce new vocabulary, and generate discussion about the content before the students attempted to read it themselves. They also used other traditional strategies for teaching reading comprehension, like asking questions and linking what they read to the students’ own experiences.

Strategies like this prepared the students in advance, making them more receptive and engaged when they did begin reading the material independently.

Research has showed that the integration of these two sets of strategies – reinforcement and anticipation – is crucial for teaching reading to non-readers.

During our interviews, the teachers said these strategies were being used specifically for non-readers in their classes. But the second part of our study, when we sat in and observed classes, showed that this was not the case.

Shortcomings

The teachers identified their non-reading students for us before our observations began. In fact, these students were seated together. They were in the minority in all five classrooms we observed. Despite their seating arrangements, we did not see any evident, distinct interactions or differentiated instruction aimed at non-readers during lessons.

The lessons simply progressed without any clear indication that the teachers were intentionally implementing the specialised strategies they described during interviews for the students who struggled with reading.

What they’d said in interviews was true: they did use well-established instructional reinforcement and anticipatory strategies – vocabulary board charts, visual aids, read-alouds and other techniques. But these were aimed at the entire class, no matter their reading abilities or individual struggles.

This raises concerns about whether the struggling students are truly receiving the tailored instruction and scaffolding they need to develop their reading skills and comprehension. During the classroom observations, we observed an overuse of chorus responses and learners who could not respond to questions posed to them. This suggested that not only the non-readers, but also some of the readers were struggling to engage with the material.

Potential interventions

Based on our findings, we recommend that teachers whose classes contain a mix or fluent and non-reading students implement differentiated approaches to instruction.

This involves assessing students’ reading levels and dividing the class into small groups based on their proficiency. Teachers can then provide targeted instruction and activities at the appropriate level for each group, focusing on foundational reading skills for non-readers and more advanced reading comprehension exercises for fluent readers.

This flexible grouping structure allows for students to move between groups as their skills improve. This fosters a collaborative, inclusive and dynamic learning environment. It allows non-readers to benefit from the modelling and support of their more proficient peers, while also challenging the fluent readers to develop their teaching and leadership skills.

Tsitsi Mavambe, PhD student, Faculty of Education, Stellenbosch University and Nhlanhla Mpofu, Chair- Curriculum Studies, Stellenbosch University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.