Abstract
This study utilised regression methods to explain Grade 4 reading literacy achievement taking into account discrepancies between the language of the test and home language for learners who participated in the South African preProgress in International Reading Literacy Study (prePIRLS) 2011. Grade 4 learners were tested across all 11 official languages. The language of testing did not always coincide with the learner’s home language; therefore, prePIRLS 2011 test results reveal achievement for learners who in many cases did the test in a second or third language. Results from the current analyses show that testing in African languages predicts significantly lower results as compared to English, but that exponentially worse results by as much as 0.29 points lower of a standard deviation can be expected when the African language of the test did not coincide with the learners’ home language. Findings from the current study provide evidence that African children stand to be disadvantaged the most when a strong mother tongue base has not been developed and when education for children between Grade 1 and 3 is only available through a medium of instruction other than the mother tongue. Evidence that exposure to a language that at least shares linguistic similarities to the home language could have a positive effect.
Highlights
Since becoming a democracy in 1994, the task of transforming from an inequitable system to that of a democratic society with equal opportunities for all its citizens became a priority in South Africa
Grade 4 learners in South African primary schools who participated in prePIRLS 2011 were unable to achieve satisfactory levels of reading competence
The current study took the form of a secondary analysis of prePIRLS 2011 South African data
Summary
Since becoming a democracy in 1994, the task of transforming from an inequitable system to that of a democratic society with equal opportunities for all its citizens became a priority in South Africa. According to Motala (2006), central to this transformation task is the establishment of an education system based on principles of quality and equity in pursuit of democratic ideals. To control for learner background, an asset scale was created using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) from the variable ASBG05A-N by analysing the pattern of relationships of the possessions learners reported to have in the home. These items included a computer, study desk, books of your own, your own room, Internet connection, daily newspaper, own cell phone, calculator, dictionary, electricity, running tap water, television, video/CD/DVD player and waterflush toilets
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