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How to cite this thesis
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University of Johannesburg
Faculty of Education
How grade R teachers in the Oshana Region of Namibia
approach literacy education
Frieda Nanewo Shingenge
216019929
Dissertation submitted for the degree
Magister Educationis
in
Childhood Education
at the
University of Johannesburg
Supervisor: Professor Elizabeth Henning
Co-supervisor: Dr. Parvathy Naidoo
Date: March 2017
DECLARATION
I declare that this is my original research for the purpose of the dissertation, How
Grade R teachers in the Oshana Region of Namibia approach literacy education.
ii
SUMMARY
Keywords: Phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, pedagogical content
knowledge, early reading acquisition
In my practice as education specialist for grade R, I have noticed that teachers find it
both difficult to prepare and stimulate children for initial reading. I initiated the current
study to investigate grade R classrooms in one region in Namibia, to get a closer look
in order to find out what teachers say and what they do in their classrooms. I prepared
the study from a dual theoretical perspective, because I was interested in both the
approach to early literacy (or pre-literacy) pedagogy of the teachers, as well as their
specific stage of development as early literacy education practitioners. To this end, I
view teachers’ knowledge and practice of preparation for initial reading through a
synthesis of two frames – Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory or cultural-historical
theory as it was originally known (Vygotsky, 1978, 1992), coupled with a teacher
career path model of a teacher of reading (Snow, Griffin & Burns, 2005). I utilised this
synthesis as a dual lens for a ‘gaze’ on grade R teachers’ in interaction with the children
in their classes.
Many scholars of teacher knowledge of reading pedagogy affirm that there is a void in
grade R (and generally in early grades) teachers’ knowledge of what constitutes early
literacy, even though teachers may practice some of its teaching techniques. Some
researchers advocate for teachers’ knowledge of metalinguistic (or meta-pedagogical)
knowledge, such as phonological and phonemic awareness as foundation for teaching
skills of initial reading (Cunningham, Perry, Stanovich, Stanovich, 2004; Moats, 1994,
Moats & Lyon, 1996). In this study I argue that teachers with sufficient pedagogical
content knowledge (PCK, as first defined by Shulman, 1987) for initial literacy
pedagogy are likely to make informed choices about pedagogy and assessment.
In this case study (Henning Van Rensburg & Smith, 2004; Stake, 2005; Yin, 2009), the
unit of analysis is teacher knowledge and practice of ‘pre-literacy’ skills pedagogy and
overall PCK. The unit of sampling is 10 grade R teachers’ in the Oshana Region of
Namibia. Interview and observation data were analysed, capturing teachers’
expressed knowledge and their actual literacy practices.
iii
The analytic process of data processing saw the researcher working inductively with
the data. The result of the analysis was that the teachers’ phonemic knowledge, for the
purpose of pedagogy, is limited. This is specifically the case with regard to the use of
picture reading practices, whole word reading instruction and the way teachers utilise
the overall functionality of individual sounds. Seven themes from the inductive analysis
show that teachers’ meta-knowledge for early literacy teaching is characterised by
learned skills more than their own understanding of the role of phonemes and the
sound system of language. Findings also indicate that, although they are qualified
teachers, there is room for improvement, not so much in the techniques they use as in
the knowledge that underlies the use of certain methods. The findings implicate
teacher training, policy documents and in-service teacher development programmes
at higher education institutions and in Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The
study theorises teacher development, suggesting a model for teacher development
and initial teacher education, in which the role of the sounds of a language is
foregrounded knowledgably by grade R teachers.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the following individuals and groups who have contributed
to the completion of this dissertation:
To the teachers who formed sample of my study: Thank you very much. Your insights
are greatly valued and contributions are appreciated as they lay the foundation of the
research agenda of literacy education in Namibia.
To my parents: Thank you for being there when I needed you most. To my father,
Naeman Shapopi, thank you for your endless prayers. To my mother, Frieda Shapopi,
thank you for all the kilometres you travelled to visit my family while I was away in
Johannesburg for my study.
To my family, friends and colleagues: Thank you all for your motivation and support in
many different ways. I love you all.
To my girls, Naemi, Ndapewa and Nanewo: Thank you for taking care of my sons while
I was away.
To my fellow students, thank you all for being wonderful team players in the journey
we embarked on. Let’s keep pushing.
To my supervisor, Prof Henning, thank you for your endless direction and for always
reminding me about the bigger picture. I can never thank you enough.
To Dr Naidoo, thank you so much for sharing your best practices, guidance and your
kindness.
To my dear husband, Elvin Shingenge: Thank you for your unconditional love and
support and, most importantly, for taking care of the children during the duration of my
study while I was a student in Johannesburg. Thank you so much.
To my sons, Witness and Eben, you are my pillar of strength.
To God, I know it is by your greatest Grace that I made it thus far. Thank you my creator
for your wisdom and strength to keep moving till the end.
v
The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF), in the South
Africa Research Chair of Prof E Henning at UJ, towards this research is hereby
acknowledged (Grant: 98 573). Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are
those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
i
SUMMARY …………………………………………………………………………………………………………
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………………………………….. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………………………………………….. vi
LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………………………………………………………………… x
LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………………………………………………… xi
ORIENTATION AND BACKGROUND ………………………………………………………. 12
1.1
BACKGROUND ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
1.2
THE CONTEXT AND RATIONALE OF THE STUDY …………………………………………………… 14
1.2.1
The context of the investigation ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
1.2.2
Language policy in Namibian schools ………………………………………………………………………………… 15
1.2.3
The theoretical background and rationale of the inquiry ……………………………………………………… 16
1.2.3.1
Theoretical framework
…………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
1.2.3.1.1
Teaching pre-literacy skills as social mediation
……………………………………………………… 16
1.2.3.2
Rationale ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19
1.3
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
……………………………………………………………………………….. 22
1.4
THE AIM OF THE INVESTIGATION …………………………………………………………………….. 23
1.5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGICAL ORIENTATION
…………………………………………………….. 23
1.5.1
Research design ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23
1.5.2
Methods of data collection and analysis ……………………………………………………………………………. 24
1.5.3
Interpretation of data ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 24
1.6
TERMINOLOGY …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25
1.6.1
Language ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25
1.6.2
Phonology ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 25
1.6.3
Phonological awareness
…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 25
1.6.4
Phonemic awareness ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 25
1.6.5
Phonemic manipulation tasks …………………………………………………………………………………………… 25
1.6.6
Grade R learners/children
………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26
1.6.7
Grade R Teacher/ Practitioner ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26
1.7
THE STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION…………………………………………………………….. 26
vii
1.8
CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 27
……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 28
PREPARING CHILDREN FOR READING ACQUISITION ………………………………………………… 28
2.1
INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 28
2.2
THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING ………………………………………………………………………. 28
2.3
KNOWLEDGE OF TEACHING AND KNOWING THE LEARNER……………………………………. 29
2.4
TEACHER EDUCATION AND THE TEACHING PROFESSION
………………………………………. 34
2.5
ADAPTIVE TEACHING FOR LITERACY PREPARATION …………………………………………….. 35
2.6
TEACHERS’ CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OF LINGUISTICS FOR READING ACQUISITION ……… 37
2.7
TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE ROLE OF SOUND AND SYMBOL
……………………………. 39
2.8
LINGUISTIC AND LITERACY KNOWLEDGE PRACTICES ……………………………………………. 42
2.9
READING IN THE EARLY LITERACY YEARS …………………………………………………………… 45
2.10
THE GRADE R CURRICULUM FOR LITERACY PREPARATION ……………………………………. 55
2.11
PHONEMIC AWARENESS AS PREPARATION FOR FIRST STEPS IN READING ……………….. 59
2.12
PHONEMIC AWARENESS INSTRUCTION …………………………………………………………….. 61
2.13
THE GRADE R TEACHER WITH PCK OF THE PHONOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF READING 66
2.14
CONCLUSION: PCK OF THE GRADE R TEACHER OF PRE-READING SKILLS …………………… 67
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN ……………………………………………………………………………. 69
3.1
INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 69
3.2
THE UNIT OF SAMPLING
…………………………………………………………………………………. 72
3.3
DATA COLLECTION SOURCES …………………………………………………………………………… 74
3.3.1
Interviews ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 74
3.3.1.1
Paired interview ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75
3.3.2
Observation
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 76
3.4
RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
……………………………………………………………………………… 77
3.5
ANALYSIS OF DATA ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 78
3.6
RESEARCH ETHICS …………………………………………………………………………………………. 82
CHAPTER 4: THE DATA OF THE STUDY …………………………………………………………………… 85
viii
4.1
INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 85
4.2
DATA COLLECTION ………………………………………………………………………………………… 85
4.3
INDUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE DATA
………………………………………………………………….. 87
4.4
GLIMPSES OF THE OUTCOME OF ANALYSIS
………………………………………………………… 96
4.4.1
Theme 1: Teachers use word picture reading as if it shares principles with alphabetic reading … 97
4.4.2
Theme 2: Teachers use non-alphabetic word reading as if it is a gateway to reading ………………. 99
4.4.3
Theme 3: Teachers lack conceptual knowledge of phonemic awareness ……………………………… 100
4.4.4
Theme 4: Teachers have limited knowledge of the structure of language…………………………….. 102
and its sound systems required for initial reading pedagogy ………………………………………………………….. 102
4.4.5
Theme 5: Teachers have some tacit sense of phonological tasks and their contribution to learning
to read
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 104
4.4.6
Theme 6: Teachers are aware of child development and age appropriate approaches to teaching
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 106
4.4.7
Theme 7: Teachers are officially qualified and understand professional conduct ………………….. 107
4.5
CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 108
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
…………………………………………………………. 109
5.1
INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 109
5.2
RESEARCH FINDINGS: THE MAIN THEMES
………………………………………………………… 109
5.2.1
Teachers use word picture reading as if it shares the principles with alphabetic reading ……….. 109
5.2.2
Teachers use non-alphabetic word reading as if it is gateway to reading
……………………………… 113
5.2.3
Teachers lack conceptual knowledge phonemic knowledge awareness
……………………………….. 116
5.2.4
Teachers have limited knowledge of the structure of language and its sound systems required for
initial reading pedagogy
…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 118
5.2.5
Teachers have some tacit sense of phonological awareness tasks and their contribution to
learning to read
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 121
5.2.6
Teachers are aware of child development and age appropriate approaches to teaching ……….. 125
5.2.7
Teachers are officially qualified and understand professional conduct ………………………………… 126
5.3
LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY …………………………………….. 127
5.4
CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY …………………………………………………………………………. 128
REFERENCE LIST ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 130
ADDENDUM A: PERMISSION TO CARRY OUT RESEARCH IN SCHOOLS
………………………… 145
ADDENDUM B: OBSERVATION SCHEDULE ……………………………………………………………. 147
ADDENDUM C: ETHICS CLEARANCE APPROVAL …………………………………………………….. 151
ix
ADDENDUM D: PARTICIPANTS CONSENT FORM ……………………………………………………. 152
ADDENDUM E: EXAMPLE OF TRANSCRIBED RAW DATA-INTERVIEW …………………………. 154
ADDENDUM F: FREQUENCIES OF DATA OCCURRENCE ……………………………………………. 169
ADDENDUM G: HOW DATA WAS CODED……………………………………………………………… 178
ADDENDUM H: DATA ON CD
……………………………………………………………………………… 188
x
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: Languages for teaching …………………………………………………………………………. 15
Table 2.1: Grade R competencies for phonological awareness and articulation …………….. 56
Table 2.2: Grade 1 competencies for reading and viewing …………………………………………. 56
Table 2.3: Teachers phonemic knowledge career pathway (Snow et al, 2005:217)
………… 66
Table 3.1: Characteristics of the case study (adapted from Merriam [1998: 27-28] and
Yin, 2002:34]) ………………………………………………………………………………………. 69
Table 3.2: Advantages and disadvantages of interviews ……………………………………………. 74
Table 3.3: Advantages and disadvantages of observation
………………………………………….. 77
Table 4.1: Interview work plan
……………………………………………………………………………….. 86
Table 4.2: Observation work plan …………………………………………………………………………… 86
Table 4.3: Teacher demographic information …………………………………………………………… 87
Table 4.4: Example of coding of “what are some of the activities you give to the learners
to prepare them for initial reading and writing?” an extract from the response … 88
Table 4.5: The table displays the categories derived from collapsed codes
…………………… 92
Table 4.6: Final categories and themes derived from the data…………………………………….. 94
Table 4.7: Phoneme to grapheme activity ……………………………………………………………….. 98
xi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Namibian Geographical and administration regions
………………………………….. 14
Figure 1.2: Teacher’s phonemic awareness knowledge (Snow et al, 2005:217)
……………. 17
Figure 2.1: Grade R teacher knowledge base categories (adapted from Shulman 1987) .. 31
Figure 2.2: Graphic representation of the continuum of phonological awareness skills
(Lane et al, 2002:102; Pufpaff, 2009:10; Puolakanaho, Poikkeus, Ahonen,
Talvanen et al, 2003: 419-421; Snow et al, 2005:69; Yopp & Yopp,
2009:2-3)
…………………………………………………………………………………………… 48
Figure 2.3: Phonemic development in children (Yopp & Yopp, 2000:133) ……………………. 60
Figure 3.1: The bounded system of the case study of the teaching of Oshindonga ……….. 71
Figure 3.2: Interview process, adopted from Henning et al (2004); Creswell (2009) ………. 79
Figure 3.3: Observation process, adopted from Ellen (1987); Gray (2014:418) …………….. 80
Figure 4.1: Dendogramme that displays the second level of coding ……………………………. 92
Figure 4.2: The pattern of the main findings ……………………………………………………………. 95
Figure 4.3: An example of how data was analysed and checked from the themes back
to individual codes
………………………………………………………………………………. 96
Figure 4.4: Illustration of developed phoneme use for spelling …………………………………… 98
ORIENTATION AND BACKGROUND
1.1
BACKGROUND
Historically, in Namibia, the Christian missionaries initiated and developed the
provision of early childhood care and development. After Namibian Independence in
1990 and until 1994, grade R classes were attached to primary schools in the most
advantaged communities, mostly in former white schools. In 1993, the Ministry of
Education came up with a policy document, entitled Towards Education for All: A
Development Brief for Education, Culture and Training (1993), which places emphasis
on access, equity, quality and democracy within the education system. In the interest
of equity and due to the need of more classroom space and trained teachers for greater
access to primary education, the Ministry of Education (MoE) suspended its support
and grade R classes were then discontinued from all public schools.
Although early childhood development is a new concept as part of formal education in
Namibia, it is well incorporated in the national documents, such as Vision 2030. Vision
2030 stipulates the country’s developmental long term plans (2004:20). In addressing
quality education for younger children in Namibia Vision 2030 (2004:96) states that:
By providing children a fairer and better start in life, early childhood
programs have positive long-term benefits, including gains on the future
learning potential, educational attainment and adult productivity. Improving
early childhood development also to promote social and gender equity. It
helps to break the vicious cycle of poverty in two ways- by giving support to
women and older girls, allowing them to earn and learn, and by providing
children with a better base to draw upon in later years.
Vision 2030 recognises the importance of addressing early childhood education needs
as early as possible. Research indicates that early childhood education provides long
term benefits for the children’s education, such as raising children’s competence at
primary school, increasing early and later achievements, reducing repetition and
dropout rates and preparing children with special needs for early intervention (Evans,
Myers & Ilfeld, 2000; Freeman, Swick & Brown, 1999; Gilley & Gilley, 1980). However,
only limited research has been undertaken in studying Namibian teachers’
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
13
competencies in teaching grade R classes in this regard. By the time of the current
study, to the knowledge of the researcher, there was no study carried out for grade R
teachers’ approaches to literacy education in Namibia. This study will specifically focus
on grade R teachers’ knowledge about phonological and phonemic awareness as
foundational components for learning to read and write. Results obtained from the
study will be used as the basis for developing guideline programs to build educators’
skills and competencies for effective literacy education in Namibia.
Similarly, the Namibian fourth National Development Plan (NDP4) takes cognisance of
the impact of early childhood education on the desired outcome at secondary and
tertiary education levels and puts emphasis on the quality of numeracy and literacy
attainment in one of its strategies regarding grade R education (National Planning
Commission: 2012:50). Additionally, the Education and Training Sector Improvement
Programme (ETSIP) represents the education and training sector’s response to the
call of the national vision statement, Vision 2030, of which capacity building for grade
R educators has been one of the objectives. Furthermore, the Namibian Ministry of
Education’s strategic plan for 2012-2017 (2012:8), which is used as a blue print with
evidence-based reporting results in the education and training sector, highlights
building educator’s skills and competencies as one of the objectives in the theme of
teaching and learning. All these examples from the national documents show the
government efforts to ensure quality, relevant learning content that can benefit learners
throughout their lives in order to cope with the demands of life in the 21st century.
After 1994, the responsibility for early childhood care and education was then handed
over to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing and later to the Ministry of
Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW). Faith-based organisations, non-
governmental, community-based organisations, the private sector, and international
organisations have since worked as partners with the Namibian Government to create
an enabling environment for the provision of early childhood care and education
services.
During the education reform for the foundation phase (grade 1-4 back then), in 1994,
a 10-week school readiness programme was developed as part of the Grade 1
curriculum to cater for the learners who have not attended some kind of preschool
education. However, because of poor performance in literacy and numeracy at all
school levels, the Namibian Cabinet took a decision in October 2006 that the
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
14
responsibility for Grade R education would again be transferred from the Ministry of
Gender Equality and Child Welfare to the Ministry of Education back then. Therefore,
the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture is currently responsible for the children aged
5-6 years within the formal basic education setting. While the Ministry of Gender
Equality and Child Welfare is mandated to cater for the welfare of the needs of all
children in the 0-4 age group, or until they enter preschool.
In 2008, the integration of grade R into formal education started as a pilot program with
a 100 classes countrywide targeting disadvantaged communities were children are not
able to pay for preschool education offered at private early childhood development care
centres. Although the program is not yet fully intergraded in all the schools, it runs in
1138 schools out of 1717 government schools countrywide, with 1442 classes catering
for 32 134 learners aged 5-6 (Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, 2016).
1.2
THE CONTEXT AND RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
1.2.1
The context of the investigation
The study was conducted in the Oshana Region of Namibia. This region is one of the
smaller regions of the 14 geographical and administrative regions in Namibia, and is
situated in the northern part of the country (see figure 1.1).
Figure 1.1:
Namibian Geographical and administration regions
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
15
The word Oshana describes the landscape features in the area of shallow water points
of the local ecological system. It is one of the regions in Namibia without a coastline or
a foreign boarder. The region shares boarders with four regions, namely: Ohangwena
region in the north, Kunene region in the south, Omusati region in the west and
Oshikoto region in the east. The Oshana region is home to 176 674 people (National
planning Commission, 2012:20) and it is about 708 km from Windhoek, the capital city
of Namibia. The inhabitants of the region mainly depend on mahangu as staple crop
and cattle communal farming for their livelihood. Additionally, the fish which breed in
the oshana waters serve as a seasonal source of dietary for the inhabitants.
The education of the children in the region is served by 136 government/public schools,
three campuses of the University of Namibia, a campus of a private University of
Management and a vocational training centre. Out of the 93 schools with grade R
classes, I purposely choose to carry out my study in seven schools with a total of 10
teachers in rural and suburban areas. All seven schools have permanent structures of
brick and corrugated iron and at the time of the study, the enrolment in the classrooms
ranged from 15-28 learners.
1.2.2
Language policy in Namibian schools
Upon Independence in 1990, the Namibian government saw the need to introduce a
new language policy for schools, which saw the formulation of The Language Policy
for Schools: 1992 – 1996 and Beyond. This policy advocated for the use of mother
instruction alongside English as the official language. In Namibia, there are 15
languages that are used for educational purposes (see table 1.1).
Table 1.1:
Languages for teaching
Languages for teaching in Namibian schools
1. Afrikaans
2.
Otjiherero
3. English
4.
Rukwangali
5. German
6.
Rumanyo
7. Ju|’hoansi
8.
Setswana
9. Khoekhoegowab
10. Silozi
11. Namibian Sign Language
12. Thimbukushu
13. Oshikwanyama
14. Portuguese
15. Oshindonga
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
16
After some observation over the years, the education officials saw that the policy is not
fully implemented, due to misinterpretation, misunderstanding and manipulation of the
policy. This gave rise to the discussion forum on the policy in 2003 (Ministry of
Education, Sport & Culture, 2003). After years of implementation and evaluation of the
policy, a national educational conference in 2011 saw resolutions to review the
language policy for schools (Ministry of Education, Arts & Culture, 2014).
The revised policy advocates for the importance for children to learn in their mother
tongue, with the reasoning that it will reduce the additional learning load of a foreign
language with learning content (Ministry of Education, Arts & Culture, 2014:5). The
policy also states that learners at different grade levels be instructed as follows:
“Pre-Primary to Grade 3 should be taught in the mother tongue”.
“Grade 4 is a transitional year from the mother tongue to English as a medium
of instruction”.
“Grades 5-7 are transitional years when the change to English as medium of
instruction must take place”.
“Grades 8 to 12 shall be taught through the medium of English, and the mother
tongues shall continue to be offered as subjects”.
“All learners should study, at least, two languages as subjects from grade 1 to
grade 12, one of which must be English and the mother tongue as a requirement
by the language policy and national curriculum, especially in Pre-Primary to
Grade 5”.
“The medium of instruction for deaf learners will be the Namibian Sign
language”.
“In multilingual schools, a predominant local language can be used as a medium
of instruction for learners with an insufficient number of learner to constitute a
mother tongue.” (p.10).
1.2.3
The theoretical background and rationale of the inquiry
I conducted the study from a dual framework, comprising the notion of ‘semiotic
mediation’ and a model of the career path of a teacher of reading.
1.2.3.1
Theoretical framework
1.2.3.1.1
Teaching pre-literacy skills as social mediation
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
17
I will be utilizing a synthesis of 1) Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory or cultural-
historical theory as it was originally known (Vygotsky, 1978, 1992), coupled with 2) a
teacher career path model of a reading teacher (Snow et al, 2005) as a dual lens to
gaze on grade R teachers and the children in their classes. The notion of ‘pre-literacy
skills’ awareness and pedagogy will thus be situated in cultural historical theory as first
propounded by Vygotsky and later adapted to become known as sociocultural theory
(Chaiklin, 2003; Kozulin, 1990) and also adopted in an expanded theory that has
become known as cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) (Engeström, 1987, 2001).
I utilised both these theoretical positions, in conjunction, to make sense of the data,
with the unit of analysis of the study being teachers’ knowledge and approaches for
the teaching of phonemic awareness and overall “phonological sensitivity” (Brink,
2016).
To capture what teachers know about phonological, and specifically phonemic
awareness, Snow et al (2005:217) developed a model in which teachers’ knowledge
of phonemic awareness develops from novice to experts along five levels.
Figure 1.2:
Teacher’s phonemic awareness knowledge (Snow et al, 2005:217)
Level 1 describes teacher’s in-depth conceptual knowledge of phonological and
phonemic terms and the distinct difference between these terminologies. Level 2
describes knowledge that is situated in a specific context, where routines to plan for
teaching and assessment tasks are well established, based on curriculum documents
and with the help of a mentor – for adaptions if needed. Level 3 describes stable
principles; the teacher would begin to question her own practice. Routines become
automatic and adaptation of instruction to suit individual and group performance needs
are crucial. Level 4 describes adaptation to teach anywhere and evaluation of the
strength and weakness to select a suitable program for learners. At this level, the
teacher can coach other teachers on running tests and teaching phonemic awareness
differently. The last level describes critical reflection of practice and examines the
Level 1
•Declarative
knowledge
Level 2
•Situated can
do
procedural
knowledge
Level 3
•Stable
procedural
knowledge
Level 4
•Expert
adaptive
knowledge
Level 5
•Reflective,
organised
analyzed
knowledge
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
18
phonemic awareness program of a teacher and its assessment to best select and
recommend programs likely to benefit larger groups of diverse learners.
As the teacher moves through the process of developing professionally, some levels
of knowledge are greater than others. For example, at the pre-service level, declarative
knowledge is optimal while reflective knowledge is underdeveloped. As the novice
teachers’ experience increases knowledge levels increase as well. At an expert level,
reflective knowledge is greater while declarative is least important. However, at all
stages, up to date, declarative knowledge remains part of other levels to provide a
foundation when less mature levels of knowledge underlie more mature levels (Snow
et al, 2005:210). This means that teachers need to know about new research
developments to keep their own PCK up to date. The model was developed to attempt
to respond to empirically narrow measurement studies of teachers’ knowledge to
include the knowledge of what the teacher knows and is able to do (Snow et al,
2005:206-207). Among others, the model expanded work by Berliner (1988), Feiman-
Nemser (1983), Porter, Youngs, and Odden (2001) and Shulman (1987) in studies on
teachers’ knowledge.
On the other hand, Vygotsky’s theory proposes that the development of children’s
mental process depend on the presence of mediating agents in their interaction
(Kozulin, Gindis, Vladimir & Miller, 2003:20). This would require, in the instance of the
current study, a mediator/teacher to have declarative and situated procedural
knowledge about phonemic awareness tasks as social activities – in an environment
where learning can be developed and enhanced by a knowledgeable mediator (Mahn,
2003:120; Snow et al, 2003:217) who enters the child’s life as a grade R teacher.
Based on this view I therefore argue that, when children participate in social
interactions at home, they make meaning as they converse with other language users
in their environment. Upon entering the grade R classroom, individual children present
different levels of linguistic pre-knowledge, tools and symbols, which were acquired at
home, through their social and cultural interactions and relationships. Their use of
language sounds in words and sentences, dominates much of what they do as pre-
school children. The sounds of the language are appropriated daily through their
working memory (Cockcroft, 2015) and they develop phonological sensitivity (Brink,
2016) for the sounds of the language(s) to which they are exposed. And then, when
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
19
they enter grade R, their teacher builds on this knowledge and gradually mediates the
notion of individual sounds and their discriminating power.
I, thus, view grade R teachers through the Vygotskian lens of semiotic mediation,
teaching the children specific oral/auditive signs of the language in which they will learn
to read (See Figure 1.2). The teacher will mediate ‘pre-literacy’ in her pedagogy and
she will do it by introducing and highlighting the sound signs that they will hear and that
will prepare them to reach the outcome: knowing the phonemes (the smallest unit of
sound in a language) well enough to start learning the corresponding graphemes
(letters or groups of letters representing the smallest sound units) and their blending in
syllables and words towards becoming reading literate.
1.2.3.2
Rationale
This research investigation was motivated both by lack of research in the area of grade
R teachers’ competency of literacy and the researcher’s interest in the area of inquiry.
While there are some research studies in upper grade levels, including those that
describe causes of reading difficulties among grade 3 and 4 learners in Namibia.
(Junias, 2009 & Mule, 2014), little has been done in the area of early childhood
education to see the root cause of such difficulties or to see the enabling factors in the
pedagogy of pre-reading preparation, before children learn to read.
This study explored grade R teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of pre-literacy
and initial literacy teaching as described by Snow et al (2005). In order to describe this
specific type of teacher knowledge, the construct of grade R teachers’ pedagogical
content knowledge (PCK) (Shulman, 1987; 2009) had to be analysed and
problematised so as to find a balanced view of how much of the knowledge should be
about applied linguistics, reading pedagogy, and child development, including
language development. Questions about what teachers need to know, and what they
can do in grade R classrooms to prepare children for formal reading instruction have
been addressed in research such as this inquiry. Such research includes issues about
teachers’ knowledge of the phonemic structure of the language of initial reading, and
how to prepare children by using phonemic awareness tasks. Teachers’ PCK of pre-
literacy instruction for reading would also include knowledge of the social context of
children and the institutional setting of the grade R classrooms where they teach, as
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
20
well as the educational community of the school, such as districts of public school
systems (Snow et al, 2005).
In a national report on reading research and practice in the US it is evident that what
teachers know about literacy knowledge – and its instruction as literacy skills – predict
reading achievement of the children they teach (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008).
In my observation as grade R education officer, whose main responsibilities are to
monitor the implementation of the curriculum, and also plan and conduct professional
development for grade R teachers in the Oshana Region of Namibia, I have noticed
over the years that some teachers do not have sufficient knowledge for teaching initial
literacy, and which I refer to in this study as ‘pre-literacy’ knowledge and skills, using
the terms literacy education and pre-literacy interchangeably.
Teachers with whom I have worked with base their teaching of literacy on their
experiences, gained through their years of studying as pre-service teachers, and on
what they experienced during their own schooling, such as the teachers described by
Lortie (1978). The majority of the teachers were not professionally trained as grade R
teachers, but rather as grade 1-4 teachers. I would also argue that one of the reasons
for their apparent lack of PCK could be that teachers were not trained to understand
the teaching of pre-literacy before the initial reading skills are introduced directly. This
is also argued by Brink (2016), who studied the preparation of literacy teaching of grade
1 learners who have had little pre-literacy exposure and who are not aware of the
distinct sound combinations of the language in which they learn to read and later also
write.
This study therefore focused, firstly, on phonological awareness, or overall sensitivity
to the sounds of a specific language, as one of the skills needed for literacy
development, because a number of studies have shown its importance in foreseeing
literacy attainments (Hugo, Le Roux, Muller & Nel, 2005:210; Lane, Pullen, Eisele
&Jordan, 2002:102). Phonological awareness is a term used by reading specialists to
describe the ability to hear the sounds of a language and to be familiar with the sounds
as they occur in oral language flow in words and sentences, with tone and inflections
as the prosody of the language included (Henning, 2016). For example, children who
grow up in homes where Oshindonga is spoken may seldom hear the sounds of other
languages, but they will be able to notice when strange sounds are heard. They would
notice if, for example, someone speaks Swedish, or Swahili, or Khoekhoegowab.
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
21
The US National Early Literacy Panel’s report of 2008 has also firmly acknowledged
sound awareness as one of the precursors for reading achievements and as a vital
aspect in evidence-based reading instruction (Reutzel, 2015). While other studies also
suggested alphabet knowledge, specific phonological skills, such as distinguishing
phonemes, and oral language use in practice as important competences for literacy
development, overall phonological awareness or aural sensitivity is singled out as a
crucial language developmental variable for preparedness for literacy (Gough &
Tunmer 1986; Perfetti, Landi & Oakhil, 2005; Seymour, 2005).
Added to this, I argue that all predictors of literacy need to be well established in
children, and assessed by a knowledgeable teacher in literacy instruction in order to
establish the phonological awareness of individual children as they enter school.
Children come to school with differences in pre-literacy development, which comprises
their audition of a language with regard to awareness of the sounds of a language and
how sounds are typically grouped. The teacher needs to be able to assess their sound
awareness early as she tries to prepare them for reading.
When a child enters Grade R, his/her phonology, morphology and syntax normally
resemble those of the speech community to a large degree (Snow et al, 2005).
Speaking and hearing help children to discern sounds as individual ‘bytes’ or
phonemes that they will encounter when they start to read written versions of the
sounds as graphemes. For example [k/ i/ ck] has three graphemes/phonemes and [ph/
o/ n/ eme] has four. If this awareness is strengthened, it is easier for children to get to
know the grapheme counterpart of a phoneme. It is regarded as the first step to
decoding, the foundation of learning to read (Dehaene, 2009; Frith, 1985; Snow et al,
2005). Ultimately, initial reading, the ability to decode and re-code and link phonemes
to graphemes of a specific language, is being able to also understand written language
and to gain access to meaning through usage of cultural-linguistic symbols and tools
that represent speech/language (Ziegler & Goswami, 2005). Written language then
becomes a source of language meaning.
For many young children in the Oshana region, the entry into the world of literacy is
not an easy journey. According to the 2015 promotional schedules for grade one
learners in the Oshana region, of the 4807 learners were in Grade 1, 3922 were
promoted to grade 2, while 885 were not promoted (Ministry of Education, Arts &
Culture, 2015). This is largely due to the fact that basic competences were not met to
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
22
proceed to grade 2, especially that of the reading component of the criteria. The high
illiteracy level in this phase is highlighted by the research of the National Institute for
Education Development (NIED) in Namibia (2012) in which it was found that a similar
situation prevails in some foundation phase classes, where most children cannot read.
This was the case across all regions of the country, especially in rural areas.
Thus, I argue that in situations like these, grade R teachers need to have solid
knowledge of a variety of pre-literacy and early literacy instruction-related skills to
ensure that grade R learners are well prepared for learning to read. I surmise that this
may have some effect in reducing repetition rates in the other foundation phase grades.
Ultimately, reading is the gateway to learning (Pretorius & Spaull, 2016). Pre literacy
forms the foundation for learning to read texts in other subjects in the foundation phase
and thus for reading-to-learn in the upper grades.
My position at work and my professional interest in the area of pre literacy has
motivated me to pursue this area of study. I may also be able to identify and help design
a curriculum for teacher education for grade R
1.3
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
The research problem addressed in this dissertation study deals with the grade R
teachers’ knowledge of phonological and phonemic awareness as tools for literacy
approaches. The research question asked, “what are a sample of grade R teachers’
approaches to literacy education”? The study was designed to address the following
sub-questions:
What do grade R teachers know about pre-literacy’ pedagogy?
What do teachers know about phonological awareness or sensitivity as a
foundational component for learning to read and write?
What do teachers know about phonemic awareness as a foundational
component for learning to read and write?
Which strategies do teachers employ to create phonological and phonemic
awareness, phonemic blending and segmentation for the purpose of pre reading
instruction?
Chapter 1: Orientation and Background
23
1.4
THE AIM OF THE INVESTIGATION
The immediate aim of the investigation was to describe grade R teachers’ approaches
to literacy education. This was done in a close examination of the teachers’ content
knowledge of both phonological and phonemic awareness as foundational
components for learning to read and write. Additionally, the study sought to identify
teaching strategies used by the teachers to create and assess phonological and
phonemic awareness.
A synthesis of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and a phonemic awareness career path
model of Snow et al (2005) were used as theoretical framework with aims related to
the investigation. This dual framework was used as lens to gaze on grade R teachers
and the children in their classes. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory was a tool for seeing
how teachers mediated pre-literacy skills as a form of ‘semiotic’ mediation (Vygotsky,
1978). Snow’s career path model was utilised to see teachers level of phonemic
knowledge (Snow et al, 2005).
Ultimately, however, the investigation was aimed at finding out about teachers’
competencies with the ultimate purpose of ensuring that all children are well equipped
for initial reading by the grade R teacher who has sound knowledge about the
foundational components for initial reading. In addition, I also hope that the final
suggestions will contribute to the development of educator capacity in the foundation
phase.
1.5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGICAL ORIENTATION
1.5.1
Research design
This study is designed on the basis of inductive analysis of data (Caelli, Ray & Mill,
2003), in the tradition of grounded theory research (Charmaz, 2002, Henning et al,
2004; Strauss & Corbin, 1999). It is an exploratory study that describes teachers’
knowledge and practice of ‘pre-literacy’ skills instruction, showing their approach to
preparing children for learning to read. The design type of the study can be described
as a case study (Yin, 2009; Henning et al, 2004; Stake, 2005) with the “bounded
system” (Stake, 2005) being the specific sample of teachers’ practice with their
expressed knowledge of ‘pre-literacy’ skills for grade R learners.
