The development of reading at a township school: an action research study
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Date
2009-11
Authors
Van der Westhuizen, Jeanne Suzette
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Reading in South African schools is rated amongst the worst in the world. Many children come from backgrounds where reading is uncommon. Since reading is the key to the mastery of other subjects and a predictor of future success, there is mounting disquiet about learners’ reading ability. Accordingly, the principal of a secondary township school requested help with reading development. This project aimed to design a programme of reading intervention that would lead to on-going, sustainable second language reading development, with the focus on improving the educators’ skills to teach reading. Because the chosen methodology was action research, the teachers were included as participants and co-researchers. An additional aim was to reflect critically on the interventions in order to ensure more generalised understanding of an educational problem. The results of this study will have value in that they will facilitate a closer understanding of reading development in one township school as an example of a general educational problem.
Description
Keywords
Dissertation (M.A. (English))--University of the Free State, 2009, Language arts (Secondary) -- South Africa, Reading (Secondary) -- South Africa, Developmental reading -- South Africa, Language empowerment, Reading development, Secondary school reading, Culture of reading, Sustainability