Reviewing published information on reading in Botswana secondary schools

Abstract

The main purpose of this review on published information on reading in Botswana schools is to seek ways of providing instruction and assessment that result in children becoming proficient readers. Botswana has made impressive progress in literacy growth since independence. However, a lot still needs to be done if literacy is to become all that it needs to be in the lives of the youth. One conclusion from this review is that there is an urgent need in Botswana to teach reading in ways that meet the needs of all students, especially those from Khoesan-speaking backgrounds. There is also a clear mismatch between policy and practice in the teaching of reading and this greatly disadvantages the students. Two important recommendations emanating from this review are, firstly, the teaching of reading should be linked more explicitly to that of writing; secondly, the Ministry of Education and concerned stakeholders need to encourage a marriage of policy and practice in the teaching of reading in Botswana.

The Relevance of Reading Materials Presentation in Indonesian Textbook for Grade Vii Junior High School: Learner Characteristics Review

“…The success of achieving learning goals is mainly determined by the teaching and learning process and the development of teaching materials used by teachers [30]. The selection of types of teaching materials is determined based on the level of difficulty and depth of the material, the characteristics of the subject matter, the complexity in the selection of learning strategies, the character of learners, the condition of learning facilities and infrastructure by paying attention to the needs of students [4,11]. Therefore, interesting teaching materials are needed so that students are more interested and motivated.…”

Reading competency of first-year undergraduate students at University of Botswana: A case study

“…As indicated above, most studies pertain to the international community. Majority of studies on reading research that have been conducted in Botswana are limited to primary and secondary levels of education (Arua et al 2005;Commeyras & Ketsitlile 2013;Ketsitlele & Commeyras 2014;Molosiwa 2007;Seeco 2001). Arua et al (2005) conducted a study that sought to look at secondary school literacy practices in Botswana.…”

Improving the reading skills of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities: Preliminary study from Botswana

“…It has been shown that students enrolled in mainstream primary and secondary schools in Botswana, without mention of possible disabilities, experience several reading problems (Commeyras and Mazile, 2011; Commeyras and Ketsitlile, 2013; Ketsitlile and Commeyras, 2014; Shepherd, 2018). A literature review focusing on reading in Botswana indicates that students in primary school, especially in the first grade, seem to read words without understanding their meaning, with poor quality reading instruction or help to understand difficult words encountered during reading (Commeyras and Ketsitlile, 2013).…”

“…In secondary schools, reading performance results are still low both in speed and comprehension. The importance of training teachers on skills and strategies to assist all students, especially for those whom English is a second or third language should be stressed (Ketsitlile and Commeyras, 2014). Overall, literature in the field leaves the impression that teaching reading in primary school classrooms require improvement and an emphasis on quality approaches as the present pilot study seeks to examine.…”