A socially inclusive teaching strategy to respond to problems of literacy in a Grade 4 class

English: This thesis set out to formulate a socially inclusive teaching strategy intended to respond to English literacy problems as they relate to a given Grade 4 class in one primary school in the Free State province, South Africa. In this regard, the major contention of the thesis was that poor academic performance by foundation and intermediate phase learners can be attributed to insufficient preparation on the part of teachers to facilitate learners’ transition from the foundation phase to the intermediate phase. The study theorised and formulated a community-based teaching strategy which involved stakeholders of a school, using various teaching and learning resources, coming together to collaboratively enhance learners' levels of competence and achievement in listening, speaking, reading, writing, technical functioning and critical thinking skills in the Grade 4 English class. The research question was, how can a socially inclusive teaching strategy respond to English literacy problems in a Grade 4 class? This study used critical emancipatory research as its theoretical framework. Data were generated through the use of participatory action research and analysed using critical discourse analysis. The empirical analysis, interpretation of data and discussion the findings resulting from interventions were done with critical discourse analysis. The framework thus developed contributes to demystifying the teaching of English literacy, and improved the subject performance of learners in this class significantly. The socially inclusive teaching strategy understands that learners are expected to demonstrate a basic operational knowledge and that a socially inclusive way of teaching has a wide applicability in/outside the classroom. In the first part of the study, the results of brief empirical reflections by means of participatory action research show that the inability to activate a socially inclusive teaching strategy to respond to English literacy problems is caused by the absence of a dedicated team with a common purpose/vision, failures relating to lesson preparation, ineffective lesson presentation and an absence of effective assessment measures; these causes have a negative impact on learners’ learning attainment, namely, learners are unable to read text meaningfully or to reason logically, their decision making is uninformed and they are unable to perform given tasks. The second part of the study identifies the components of the solution, namely, the formulation of a socially inclusive teaching strategy to respond to the problems of teaching English literacy – these component are required for such a strategy to be implemented successfully. These components can only be described successfully in the presence of a dedicated team. Numerous findings of this study with regard to the common literacy challenges faced by beginner English as Second Language learners are consistent with results of other research studies reported in the literature review. The distinctive aspect of this research project has proven to be the infusion of humanitarian elements into educational management and curriculum studies, which has transformational characteristics within a research paradigm. All of these characteristics involve understanding the contexts within which such a strategy can be implemented successfully by a strong team working in a socially inclusive learning environment, in an attempt to create a conducive, sustainable learning environment. The study advocates the consideration of learners’ voices as the measure of the success of learning and, thus, recommends that these voices, which have often been viewed as “insignificant”, are heard. In conclusion, the thesis argues that a socially inclusive teaching strategy does not reside in an individual, but in collective and collaborative relationships; anyone who is/will be affected by any decision or action taken in an institution earns engagement and involvement. The thesis offers a strategy that can respond to literacy problems in a socially inclusive manner.