The challenge of incorporating new methods: The case of group guided reading in South Africa

South African Journal of Childhood Education

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The challenge of incorporating new methods: The case of group guided reading in South Africa
 
Creator Kitsili, Ntsikohlanga Anthony Murray, Sarah R.
 
Subject Early Literacy teacher knowledge; teacher practices; early grade reading; group guided reading; Foundation phase; reading baseline assessment
Description Background: South Africa is a country with a reading crisis: 81% of Grade 4 learners are unable to read for meaning in Grade 4. Teaching methods and practices have been identified as a primary cause; there is an over-reliance on choral methods, very little focus on meaning, weak feedback and assessment, and little interaction with books.Aim: This article reports on the kinds of knowledge required to teach Group Guided Reading (GGR) and the extent to which teachers enacted this knowledge in their practice, using Shulman’s (1987) knowledge categories.Setting: The research was carried out in three no-fee, township primary schools where isiXhosa was the language of learning and teaching (LoLT), in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.Methods: The research took the form of a case study of three teachers, who were given support, including coaching, to implement GGR. Data were generated through classroom observation and stimulated recall interviews using videos; the data were analysed using Shulman’s knowledge categories (1986, 1987).Results: Teachers demonstrated sufficient pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) to put GGR into practice. However, no assessment was observed, and two of the teachers chose not to put the learners into reading ability groups, both of which are core elements of GGR.Conclusion: New methods of teaching do not always take account of local circumstances.Contribution: Group Guided Reading was developed in countries where classes are small, and classrooms are spacious and well-equipped.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Rhodes University
Date 2024-05-23
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — document analysis, questionnaires, observations, stimulated recall and semi-structured interviews.
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajce.v14i1.1487
 
Source South African Journal of Childhood Education; Vol 14, No 1 (2024); 10 pages 2223-7682 2223-7674
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1487/2879 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1487/2880 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1487/2881 https://sajce.co.za/index.php/sajce/article/view/1487/2882
 
Coverage Township schools in the Eastern Cape — purposefully selected; three Grade 3 teachers; three township schools; Eastern Cape; Grade 3 teachers; learning and teaching language isiXhosa
Rights Copyright (c) 2024 Ntsikohlanga Anthony Kitsili, Sarah R. Murray https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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