Purpose The ongoing theory vs practice debate reinforces the problems facing teacher training institutions which need to challenge traditional programmes and work towards a tighter coherence between coursework and practical experience. Working more closely with schools to restructure teaching practice is necessary in order to create better tuition experience for students. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This project is situated within an interpretivist paradigm and is qualitative in nature. A sample of four South African education faculties was included. Semi-structured and focus group interviews were used to collect data from fourth-year BEd students, lecturers and in-service practitioners. Findings The findings indicated that the participants believed that the lack of actual classroom experience, and ineffective organisation of teaching practice, resulted in students feeling ill-equipped. Suggestions are made to improve the organisation of teaching experience and mentorship programmes. Originality/value This is an original research paper and it has value for teacher education.

No abstract

Background: Developing higher-order comprehension skills of learners in primary schools is a challenge that faces many countries. South Africa is no exception. Primary school learners in South Africa have particularly low literacy and comprehension skills: many learners struggle to read for understanding. There is little published scholarship that focuses on developing the comprehension skills of Grade 3 learners in a second language. A lack of practical classroom knowledge in this area is what this article seeks to address.Objectives: To improve the higher-order comprehension skills of Grade 3 learners in a second language.Method: A qualitative approach, using a case study design, within an interpretivist paradigm was devised and deployed. Five struggling Grade 3 learners were purposively selected to participate in an intervention programme. Their parents or guardians and two current Grade 3 teachers were interviewed. Data were collected over a 10-week intervention programme. The first and last weeks were devoted to pre-testing and post-testing. The entire intervention lasted for 10 weeks.Results: All the five Grade 3 learners showed significant improvements in their comprehension skills when comparing their pre-test and post-test scores.Conclusion: The post-test scores revealed the importance of a structured intervention programme for improving the four comprehension skills highlighted. Mediation and scaffolding in the Zone of Proximal Development were employed while concurrently developing their cognitive, social and language skills.

Background: The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study of 2016 lays claim to the need for critical thinking to be developed since, in the South African context, 78% of learners could not even retrieve explicitly stated information (lower-order thinking) from texts, as opposed to 4% in the rest of the world. Critical, higher-order thinking and reading-for-meaning skills development are imperative to allow learners to become active participants in this changing world.Objectives: The study focused on teachers’ responses to a Reading-for-Meaning workshop aimed at empowering teachers with tools or strategies to improve learners’ comprehension through developing critical, higher-order thinking skills.Method: The research is an interpretative, qualitative study which aimed at understanding how critical thinking is integrated into reading for meaning in classrooms. The Microsoft program Teams was used as the online platform to present the workshop which facilitated synchronous e-learning. Purposive sampling was applied and 36 intermediate and senior phase teachers teaching from grades four to nine solicited. Data were collected from a Telegram chatroom and a web-page questionnaire which was inductively analysed.Results: Teachers experienced all the strategies positively and, on implementation in their classrooms, found that these strategies encouraged learner engagement, improved interpretation, boosted confidence and led to meaningful engagement with texts and deeper thinking which allowed them to think more critically.Conclusion: The Reading-for-Meaning workshop provided the tools which teachers used to encourage learners to express their opinion and answer more critical questions based on predictions, make inferences, make connections, clarify, summarise and paraphrase, and so develop critical thinking skills and subsequently improve comprehension skills.Contribution: On a conceptual level, the article has established a connection between the theories of critical thinking and pedagogical strategies. This opens up new directions for research for scholars in the field of literacy and education.

No abstract