Interrogating Reading Levels among Grade 7 Learners in Under performing Rural Primary Schools in Lupane District.

Interrogating Reading Levels among Grade 7 Learners in Under performing Rural Primary Schools in Lupane District.

Shepherd Ndondo; Emily Mangwaya; Daniel Mhlanga; Fedina Moyo; Christopher Ndlovu

Lupane State University, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.701160

Received: 27 September 2023;  Revised:  10 October  2023; Accepted: 16 October 2023; Published: 22 November 2023

ABSTRACT

Quality education is one of the major determinants of individual and community development in the contemporary world. Premised on this argument, underdevelopment which is the main feature of rural communities the world over, is mainly attributed to poor educational provision. Furthermore, a record of persistent academic underachievement leads to a negative attitude by communities toward educational issues hence quality educational outcomes remain elusive. This study is a preliminary part of a wide study which is aimed at improving academic performance in rural settings, particularly Lupane district. The focus of this preliminary study was to identify reading difficulties in rural grade seven learners and institute intervention measures. The study is grounded in the generative theory of rurality and is informed by the transformative research paradigm. The case study design was employed for this study and a total population comprising grade seven learners from the 57 under performing schools in Lupane district with a targeted population of 381 learners and 10 teachers. Tests were employed as instruments for assessing learners’ reading abilities. The intervention strategies which were instituted for a period of 4 years were based on results obtained from tests initially administered torandomly sampled grade seven learners. When it emerged from the tests that most grade seven learners were reading below their grade level, teachers were equipped with relevant skills, and the community was mobilized to work towards achieving the same goal. After some intervention, preliminary findings revealed that some schools had moved out from the zero percent pass rate bracket. The study recommends more stakeholders’ motivation so that all schools in the district achieve quality educational outcomes.

Keywords: Quality education, reading abilities, zero percent pass rate

INTRODUCTION

The need for quality educational outcomes is a desire yet to be fulfilled especially for the historically disadvantaged rural ecosystems across the globe (Chakaninka, Noah, Phyllis, &Nduna, 2012; Chikoko, 2008; Msila, 2013; Dahlum & Knutsen, 2017). Rural areas continue to be marginalized and under served in terms of human and material resource allocation principles (Bush & Heystek, 2010; Belcastro, 2015). Notwithstanding Zimbabwe’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goal 4(SDG4) which aims to ensure inclusive, equitable quality education as well as promoting lifelong learning and opportunities for all, on the ground this does not appear to be realized. To this end, it is not pleasing to note that some parts of Matebelel and North province, Lupane district in particular, are performing poorly in public examinations. The publication of public examination results each year sees stakeholders in soul-searching experiences trying to find the source of the problem. Furthermore, the district has seen a number of its primary schools recording zero percent pass rates in grade seven results. As a result of a persistent spate of poor Grade seven results, a community concern prompted Lupane State University, as a stakeholder, to be involved in a community engagement process by finding out the causes of this phenomenon and coming up with intervention strategies. As part of the wide research aimed at improving the pass rate in the Lupane district, hence enhancing quality educational outcomes in the rural parts of the country, this preliminary study mainly focused on identifying learners’ literacy problems and equipping teachers with strategies to confront these difficulties for better educational outcomes. An attempt is made to apply the generative theory of rurality theory so as to give a strong theoretical underpinning to this research. This article also reviews the literature on illiteracy in schools and interventions, provides the research methodology, and presents initial test results. Finally, results from the intervention strategies which are basically based on the initial test results presented in this article are provided and discussed and future research directions highlighted. On the whole, the findings of this study are expected to contribute new knowledge to the existing body of causes of under performance and interventions thereof in the context of Lupane district in Zimbabwe.

Statement of the problem

Academic underachievement in Zimbabwean rural schools is a national challenge. Despite the government’s effort to uplift the standard of education nationally, the rural areas seem to be neglected in terms of material and human resource allocation. Some primary schools are recording zero percent pass rates in grade seven public examinations. This has led to the development of a negative self-concept among the learners and a negative attitude by the community towards schools, particularly in Lupane District, the area under study. Lack of intervention, in this case, will lead to perpetual marginalization of the Lupane community as its educational institutions will continue churning out products that cannot meaningfully represent it at provincial and national decision-making fora. The district may remain underdeveloped as a result of inadequate nurturing of learners through successful educational programmes. This paper, therefore examines reading difficulties as causes of academic underachievement at Grade seven level and the efficacy of intervention strategies that can be employed.

Research objectives

The following objectives guided this study:

1. To establish reading abilities for grade seven learners.
2. To establish key reading challenges amongst grade 7 learners
3. To determine intervention strategies that can address key reading challenges amongst grade 7 learners in Lupane primary schools

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This study is couched in the generative theory of rurality as propounded by Balfour, Mitchell, and Moletsane (2008). This is a transformative social theory that does not see the rural inhabitants as passive actors in their environment. Instead, it is premised on the belief that rural communities should take active roles as agents in solving the challenges they experience. It focuses on rural people’s ability to sustain themselves both as subjects and as agents able to resist or transform the environment, depending on the resources available (Balfour, 2012). Rural people are conceived as having a great potential to influence the direction their education would take (Moletsane, 2012). A generative theory of rurality considers three variables that sum up its content (Balfour et al., 2008). The first variable is termed Forces, which refers to space and place as that which is occupied by people and as having great influence in shaping their behaviour, thinking, identities, and subjectivity. This theory calls for education to take into consideration the conditions in these rural settings; rural people’s beliefs and culture, and social, economic, and political situations which may extend to the state of rural households. This variable informs the researchers and participants, in this case, Lupane district, of how they are affected by their environment in decision-making and how they can confront the challenges in their own context for community transformation. The second variable is described as Agencies, which are identified as a series of behaviours and dispositions: “compliance and disruption, activism and entropy, and involves an exercise of will towards both ends” (Balfour et al., 2008: 101). This is how the community members act upon the influence of forces, hence positive actions lead to societal transformation. This may inform the researchers and participants on how to respond to the forces for community transformation in Lupane district (the area understudy) where learners’ academic performance is below standard. The third element of a generative theory of rurality is Resources. They refer to material and emotional resources as well as to conceptual and physical resources (Balfour, 2012). The unavailability of resources in rural schools leads to low academic performance. In the context of the current study researchers and participants are informed on how the agencies affect the forces for the production of resources in Lupane district. This will lead to the identification of the problem and ultimately its confrontation by the community.

Overall, the generative theory of rurality gives the researchers and participants a critical view of how the community can be emancipated and transformed through its initiatives and acting upon the challenges it is facing. Researchers and participants are enlightened about the interconnectedness of the factors affecting academic performance in rural settings in general and Lupane district in particular. The understanding of this theoretical grounding is hoped to empower the researchers and participants to confront the challenges of poor academic performance by learners in Lupane district hence transforming their community.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The value of reading abilities for primary school learners.

Primary school education is a very important stage of community development as it forms the foundation for further human and community development (Mapolisa, 2012). However, the provision of quality education remains elusive to most rural communities in Africa (Chakaninka, Noah, Phyllis, &Nduna, 2012).Poor education provision in rural ecosystems often manifests itself in poor performance by learners in public examinations. A deep look into the phenomenon uncovers a gross deficiency in reading skills among rural primary school learners. A mastery of literacy skills enables learners to get information and serves as the basic self-development toward acquiring knowledge. Any successful teaching and learning process in the multi-disciplinesin schools is based on the acquisition of reading skills hence teachers and parents should capitalize on primary school ages since it is a time of tremendous literacy growth (Kanyimo& Chinamasa, 2020).A good grasp of reading skills could ensure a higher potential and achievement in the English language and other subjects as well(Ghaffar & Aziz, 2019).Literature shows that literacy skills are imperative for primary school learners to acquire the curriculum concepts hence there is a need to examine the reading abilities of the learners at this preliminary stage of the current research to come up with initial intervention measures.

Though reading difficulties could be the result of genetics, physical disabilities, health, and emotional problems, environmental problems seem to affect the majority of primary school learners in rural spaces (Chakaninka, Noah, Phyllis, & Nduna,2012). In addition, many rural communities lack professional help, and support, governance structures, books, and learning materials that they need to provide the necessary support and care for learners(Plessis, 2014; Shumba &Gada, 2018). Research indicates that functionally illiterate and innumerable parents are mainly found in our rural areas (Plessis,2014). This has a negative implication for learners’ reading abilities as they lack exposure to the language resulting in problems in using and utilizing the language. Among the problems are: confusion between lowercase and uppercase while reading, unclear pronunciation of words, and omitting difficult words (Ghaffar & Aziz, 2019). These make pupils confused about the order of words, sentences, and intonation of the text. Pupils’ inability of both skills could be presented in their writing. A study by Shumba and Gada (2018) revealed that learners’ difficulties in understanding and using the alphabetical principle that affected decoding, stemmed from unsound teaching methods applied by teachers. The reading difficulties identified during the observation sessions and the reading tests in this study were decoding and lack of word recognition abilities, reversal of words, substitution, insertion, omission, and English language problems. Literature also reveals a plethora of conditions that cause reading deficiencies among school pupils, such as the learner himself/herself, the atmosphere at home, the learner’s peers and community, conditions at school, and the classroom situation (Muchemwa,2014; Ghaffar & Aziz, 2019).

Reading deficiencies have continued to be the main cause of academic underachievement in rural areas(Muchemwa,2014;Chakaninka, Noah, Phyllis, & Nduna,2012).For quality educational outcomes to be achieved, it is imperative that families and teachers cooperate to provide an inclusive literacy education throughout the pupils’ schooling years(Ghaffar & Aziz, 2019).All the interested parties should play their roles in order to aid the pupils in their reading(Muchemwa,2014).This can be done through the mobilization of reading materials in schools so that learners are exposed to environments conducive to reading. Teachers should be capacitated with a variety of teaching methodologies in reading (Shumba & Gada, 2018).

Literacy underpins the acquisition of more complex skills hence the role played by primary school teachers is crucial in the development of reading skills in learners (Department of Education and Skills, 2011).Effective literacy teachers are understood to be those who possess knowledge and language skills pertaining to the English language, as well as having a large vocabulary(Wray & Medwell, 1999).The characteristics of effective literacy teachers also include the ability to use various teaching and learning approaches. Given this responsibility, these teachers need to be adequately equipped to enable them to execute their duties (Ruzlan Md-Ali, 2016).  Notwithstanding the support given by the government in the provision of human and material resources, a lot should be done to support the rural marginalized. It is understood that for effective teaching of literacy, the teacher should have knowledge about pupils’ prerequisite literacy knowledge, teaching, and learning approaches outlined within the curriculum, and should also have sufficient content and pedagogical knowledge(Ghaffar & Aziz, 2019;Ruzlan Md-Ali, 2016).In rural settings, some illiterate parents are unable to realize the importance of education and they also do not understand the importance of communication skills which play a vital role in their careers (Gomathi,2014).To this end, school authorities and teachers should also make a great effort to build relationships with families that encourage positive dialogue and establish a sense of partnership around the learner (Department of Education and Skills, 2011). School leadership should play their role in curriculum implementation by taking stalk of deep content knowledge about the curriculum, formative, summative, and diagnostic assessment, moderation, and pedagogy of literacy and numeracy (Department of Education and Skills, 2011). The foregoing literature review indicates a great need for a concerted effort from all stakeholders to create a conducive environment for the learners to benefit from the education system for community transformation. Although the literature survey is generally on ways of confronting academic underachievement in schools, educational stakeholders in Lupane District can take a leaf from it to improve literacy in primary school learners hence achieving desirable educational outcomes, thus fulfilling the broad aim of this project.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study is informed by the transformative research paradigm whose main focus is emancipating and transforming communities through group action (Mertens, 2007). The transformative paradigm adopts the stance that there are multiple realities that are socially constructed (Mertens, 2007).These deep structures can be unmasked through theories and a historical orientation. In this paradigm, true knowledge lies in the collective meaning-making by the people, which can inform individual and group action that improves the lives of the people (Mertens, 2007).To know realities, the transformative paradigm advocates for an interactive relationship in a study which leads to the transformation and emancipation of both participant and researcher. The purpose of research is to destroy myths, illusions, and false knowledge and empower people to act to transform society. Quantitative as well as qualitative methods are used in the research process. Participants are involved in identifying the problem, defining the problem, collecting and analyzing the data, disseminating the findings, and using the findings to inform practice. This paradigm was suitable for this project as the community seeks to transform itself through its own efforts. It is relevant, particularly for this preliminary study whose goal was to find levels of reading abilities in learners preparing for their grade seven examinations, so that teachers are capacitated will methodologies to improve the pass rate in rural Lupane. The active participation of the ‘insiders’ as advocated by this paradigm is hoped to develop a positive self-concept which will lead to community transformation and emancipation through the realization of desired learning outcomes.

Population and sampling

This preliminary study which aimed at identifying reading difficulties and providing some intervention drew learners from 57 schools that were selected because of their zero percent grade record in grade seven public examination for the past five years. Schools were encouraged to send learners that they deemed would benefit from the programme. A total of 381 students and 10 teachers participated in the programme. After a few days of teaching and learning in the camping school, it was found that most of the learners in the camp were nonreaders. A sample of 160 learners out of 381 was randomly selected to undergo the tests to assess word reading skills and to determine the approximate reading age of a student.

RESULTS OF THE TESTS

The test results revealed that there is a significant number of students who are reading and spelling below their grade level and chronological age. Word decoding skills are not properly grasped.

Figure 1 Results of the tests

From the graph above, it is clear that 30% of the participants were reading and spelling at grade 7 level, while 40% of the participants were reading at the grade 5 level. The remaining 30% were reading at grade 3 and below level.

Reading is a vehicle through which learners master concepts in all learning areas and it allows for independent learning. It can be inferred that with 70% of the grade seven learners reading below their level, the chances of succeeding in the public exams are very low.

Key reading challenges

Figure 2. Key reading challenges

Though some learners showed a multiplicity of reading challenges, categorization into areas of reading difficulties was possible as shown in the chart above. These difficulties includeend sounds and blends which pose a great challenge for most learners, only 6% performed well in this aspect. Only 12% were able to read words with silent letters. In some instances, learners tend to add their own vowels to words without vowels,19% performed well in this exercise. The omission of some sounds in some words was also a common weakness with 22% of the learners performing well. The bulk of the learners exhibited weakness in this respect, for instance, known to now and renown to now; boys to boy. Word reversal was a distinct challenge, only 19% read without exhibiting this problem. Also, learners read from past known structures projecting and projection. Lastly, phonic sounds have not been mastered by most of the readers. The deficiency of basic literacy skills shown in the chart above is great evidence of academic underperformance among grade seven learners. Without adequate literacy skills, it is difficult for learners to grasp concepts in all learning areas hence the persistent zero percent pass rate in the district.

With the above revelations, the program had to change its slant, we now focused on solving the reading ability problem, not the subject content issues. Teachers were assisted in handling the nonreaders.

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

With 4 years of running the programme, the following have been achieved:

Table 1 Pass rate trends

The selected schools were in the zero percent bracket up to 2018 when intervention measures were instituted. Through working on key reading challenges identified, schools that were in the zero bracket in the first cohort have moved out of the bracket. A slight rise in the pass rate has been witnessed during this period as follows:2019(10%),2020(12%),2021(15%) and 2022(20%). This upward trend is mainly attributed to the parents’ and the communities’ great support of the program, they want to own it and identify with it at all costs. On the other hand, teachers are now able to better handle the nonreaders in their classes. Also, School heads through their association, the National Association of Primary School Heads (NAPH) are contributing significantly in the running of camping schools. Consequently, more camping sites have been adopted from 1 to4 in the district.

DISCUSSION

Some preliminary test results revealed that a greater percentage of grade seven learners were reading below their grade level, implying that the schools could not raise the pass rate in public examinations without a special focus on teaching literacy. Community intervention strategies were instituted for a period spanning three years. Preliminary results show that schools that were in the zero bracket in the first cohort have moved out of the bracket. The results brought some motivation to the whole community as they started realizing that they could successfully confront the challenges they faced if they worked as a community. This is underscored by Balfour et al. (2008)’s generative theory of rurality which stresses that rural communities should take active roles as agents in solving the challenges they experience. The study also revealed that parents and communities have shown great support for the program as they want to own it and identify with it at all costs. The engagement of parents by school heads bore fruits as literature underlines that school authorities and teachers should make a great effort to build relationships with families that encourage positive dialogue and establish a sense of partnership around the learner (Department of Education and Skills, 2011). It emerged from this study that teachers are now able to better handle the nonreaders in their classes. This may be attributed to the same communal spirit towards the same cause and also the skills the teachers were equipped with. This is supported by literature that acknowledges the great responsibility of primary school teachers hence the need for them to be armed with skills to enable them to execute their duties (Ruzlan Md-Ali, 2016). It is also encouraging to find out from this study that NAPH is contributing significantly to the running of camping schools. School heads have an important role in monitoring the implementation process hence their participation is a great hope for societal transformation. To this end, literature says that school leadership should play their role in curriculum implementation by taking stalk of deep content knowledge about the curriculum, formative, summative, and diagnostic assessment, moderation, and pedagogy of literacy and numeracy (Department of Education and Skills,2011). Motivated by the success of the first camping site, 3 more camping sites have been adopted to make them 4 in the district. This is in line with the second variable of (Balfour et al., 2008)’s generative theory of rurality which states that there may be a series of positive behaviour changes if community members act upon the forces for societal transformation.

CONCLUSION

The test results revealed that the zero percent pass rate which characterized the district‘s grade seven academic standing was a manifestation of learners’ poor reading abilities. Intervention strategies were instituted starting with community mobilization and teacher capacitation. This intervention paid dividends as schools started drifting out of the zero percent bracket. Motivated by this achievement school heads, teachers, district education officials, and the community, Lupane State University continued playing active roles. This saw the increase of camping sites giving hope for the Lupane community to have quality education for their children.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Deployment of more qualified teachers to teach literacy at lower grades.
2. Continual community engagement to buttress the spirit of solving problems confronting them.
3. All stakeholders should bemotivated so that all schools in the district achieve quality educational outcomes.
4. Establishment of community centers for the enhancement of literacy.
5. A similar studyis to be conducted at a large scale in other districts that are performing badlyin Grade 7.

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