The Impact of Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Home Language on Primary School Children’s Reading Comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal

Völkel, Gabriela; Seabi, Joseph; Cockcroft, Kate; Goldschagg, Paul

doi:10.3390/ijerph13030322

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…However, other research has found that students from lower or higher socioeconomic backgrounds may perform differently in reading comprehension. For example, a study in South Africa (Völkel et al, 2016) found that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds performed better in reading comprehension than those from higher backgrounds. The researchers suggested that the reason why students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds outperformed those from higher backgrounds in reading comprehension, as found in their study, may be due to a greater sense of belonging to their schools and a greater effort to improve their academic performance.…”

Section: The Discussion On Sociolinguistic Factors' Role In Reading C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Collocations and Sociolinguistic Factors in Reading Comprehension Skills of L2 Turkish Primary School Students

BÖLÜKBAŞI

TİRYAKİOL

2022

Sakarya University Journal of Education

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This study examines the relative role of collocations (and its sub-types) and the effect of sociolinguistic factors on the reading comprehension skills of 4th-grade primary school students learning Turkish as a second language (L2). For this purpose, this study recruits L1 and L2 students from Başakşehir, Beylikdüzü, Fatih, and Esenler districts of Istanbul. The researchers collected data using the Language and Social Background Questionnaire (LSBQ) and a Reading Comprehension Test. The data were analyzed using statistical analyses such as the Independent Samples T-Test and the Independent Samples One-Way Variance Analysis (ANOVA) in the SPSS 22.0 package program. The study concludes that L1 students are more successful than L2 students in reading comprehension test with collocations. In terms of sub-types of collocations, L2 students are more successful in “restricted collocations” compared to other types. While L2 students' reading comprehension skills and success across collocation types are affected by sex, the language used while watching TV/video, and having technological devices such as tablet and computer; comprehension scores are not affected by the number of siblings, socioeconomic level, the language spoken by father within the home, and reading regularly. This study will significantly contribute to researchers, teachers, and policy-makers who are working with immigrant L2 students.

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Section: The Discussion On Sociolinguistic Factors' Role In Reading C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Collocations and Sociolinguistic Factors in Reading Comprehension Skills of L2 Turkish Primary School Students

BÖLÜKBAŞI

TİRYAKİOL

2022

Sakarya University Journal of Education

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“…Although gender disparities can widen over the course of education (cf. Reilly et al 2019), some studies demonstrated that these disparities narrow or even vanish with age in high school (Völkel et al 2016) and beyond (Solheim & Lundetrae 2018).…”

Section: Differences In Reading Ability By Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Failing to progress’ or not being supported to make progress? Examining variability in reading

Liswaniso

2023

South African Journal of Childhood Education

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Background: By Grade 4, learners should be able to read fluently and comprehend reading materials at their grade level. However, many learners in Africa, particularly in the Namibian context, seem to go through the primary phase with poor reading skills.Aim: This article examines the overall reading growth of Grade 5 learners, and then disaggregates performance according to grade age level and older Grade 5 learners in intervention and control schools.Setting: Data for this study were collected from four low performing schools in the Zambezi Region of north-eastern Namibia.Methods: Data are drawn from a quasi-experimental study in which teachers in intervention schools were provided with ongoing support over 4 months to enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge about reading, with the ultimate goal of improving Grade 5 learners' reading outcomes.Results: While reading scores were generally low across the schools, differential effects in terms of age clearly emerged. Significant differences emerged between grade-appropriate age groups (10 and 11-year-olds) and older learners (12-16-year-olds) in all the assessments, with older learners, expected to be cognitively more mature, showing the least progress. The results also showed better progress across age groups in intervention schools than in control schools. Conclusion:The findings indicate that explicit reading instructional practices can lead to significant gains in reading even among learners showing low reading scores in poor schooling contexts.Contribution: This study contributes to the knowledge of the factors that influence reading progress and learning among children in low-performing schools in low socioeconomic contexts.

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“…Since there are few and unsuitable resources available in these schools (Brink, Motolo & Henning 2021;Spaull, Pretorius & Mohohlwane 2020), teachers rely heavily on textbooks which encourages memorisation and a lack of higher-order criticality, and denies learners a safe space for debating and creativity. Despite a plethora of initiatives to introduce constructivist pedagogies, and provide all schools with a variety of resources in different languages to encourage questioning, critical thinking and mutual discovery of knowledge, the South African education system continues to experience many literacy challenges (Völkel et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Five Grade 7 learners’ understanding of comprehension skills at a quintile 5 school in South Africa

et al. 2022

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Background: Research into language and reading scores show that South African learners struggle to read for meaning. Many local researchers report on the inadequate teaching training programmes. Teachers cannot teach basic comprehenion skills.Objectives: This research identifies a gap in the research and records an intervention programme designed to engage learners and develop their higher-order comprehension abilities. This research analyses responses from five learners who engaged in a variety of literacy activities to extend their zones of literacy abilities to become independent critical thinkers.Method: An interpretivist paradigm, within a qualitative approach, using a case study design was devised and implemented. Five struggling Grade 7 learners were purposively selected to participate in a 10-week intervention programme. Data were collected using pre-tests and post-tests and the learners' own exercise books to assess their academic performance in written comprehensions, their daily comments on their motivation charts, information from two interviews and the researchers' participant observation scheduled notes.Results: During the time of the intervention, all five Grade 7 learners gradually learned and began to use higher-order thinking skills. Conclusion:This small research project indicates that when a teacher explicitly planned and used a variety of literacy strategies to teach comprehension skills, not only did the learners enjoy the respectful discussions but this experience developed them into independent higherorder thinkers.

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The Impact of Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Home Language on Primary School Children’s Reading Comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal

Cited by 6 publications

References 18 publications

The Role of Collocations and Sociolinguistic Factors in Reading Comprehension Skills of L2 Turkish Primary School Students

The Role of Collocations and Sociolinguistic Factors in Reading Comprehension Skills of L2 Turkish Primary School Students

‘Failing to progress’ or not being supported to make progress? Examining variability in reading

Five Grade 7 learners’ understanding of comprehension skills at a quintile 5 school in South Africa

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