Exploring views of educators on the outcomes of the reading campaign
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Date
2013
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to understand the efficacy of the reading
campaign in improving learners’ competences in reading. The study was conducted in
the northern KwaZulu-Natal province, and the researcher chose Uthungulu district as
the field of study. The study was conducted in senior phase schools under Mthunzini
circuit in Uthungulu district with a sample size of sixty educators. Educators answered
a questionnaire with closed and open- ended questions. A questionnaire was
administered to educators to solicit (a) their views on the implementation of the ELITS’
reading campaign, (b) their awareness of the campaign and (c) the availability and
accessibility of the quality reading collections supplied by ELITS to schools.
The findings revealed that majority of the educators are not aware of the ELITS reading
campaign, their knowledge of the campaign is limited and they are not even aware of
the objectives and time frame of the project. The implementation of the ELITS
campaign was not monitored as a result some schools do not engage leaners in reading
activities and they do not regard it as a skill that must be taught. The distribution of
relevant reading material is not made readily available to the majority of schools, the
majority of schools do not have libraries and library personnel; as a result it is hard for
learners to access reading materials; thereby impacting negatively on learners’
competences in reading. Based on the findings the researcher realised that the objectives of the ELITS reading
campaign were not achieved due to poor planning for the campaign, lack of training for
the educators, lack of monitoring and evaluation of the project and time frame for the
project was not clearly stated. The study recommends that reading campaigns be
planned properly, all stakeholders must know and understand objectives of the
campaign, time frame must be clearly stated to all stakeholders and monitoring and
evaluation must be taken into consideration.
Description
A Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree
Master of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies
at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013.
Keywords
Reading campaign