Reading instruction in lower primary classes: a case study of two government primary schools in Kampala District – Uganda

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore reading instruction in lower primary classes for better reading outcomes in selected government primary schools in Kampala district. The study was guided by Danielson’s Framework for Teaching (1996). The study was guided by the three objectives namely; to explore the reading instruction approaches teachers use to develop reading skills in lower primary, to assess the reading instruction resources teachers use to develop reading skills for learners in lower primary, to examine reading assessment methods used by teachers to develop reading skills for learners in lower primary. The study took a qualitative approach, using an exploratory case study design. Purposive sampling was employed in selecting the 4 participants involved in this study and these were 4 literacy teachers. Data was collected through, face to face interviews, lesson observations and documentary analysis. The findings revealed that teachers use phonics approach, whole word approach and syllabic approach to develop pupils reading skills and these were similar with those that are recommended in the thematic curriculum for primary one and two. However, teachers lacked pedagogical skills in the application of the syllabic approach, content was not well aligned which affected literacy development, reading instruction materials were not effectively utilized and the continuous assessment was highly used. It was thus recommended that the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) should work closely with National Curriculum Development Centre, (NCDC) to train and re-tool teachers through continuous professional development (CPD) on reading instruction approaches and how they are applied during the literacy hour lesson.