Reform of government policy on the acquisition of functional literacy, numeracy and cognitive skills through the reading curriculum of primary schools

Abstract

As part of the ongoing efforts to ensure the acquisition of functional literacy and communicative competence among primary school leavers, the present study examined the implementation of the reading component of the primary school English curriculum under the UBE scheme. The study was a descriptive survey and recruited six head teachers and sixty classroom teachers as the study sample. Five research questions were posed to guide the study and research data were collected using questionnaires and an observation checklist. Data were analysed using frequency counts and percentages. The findings of the study shed light on the status of the implementation of the reading curriculum in primary schools in Nigeria. In particular, it was found that the majority of the teachers do not always use the phonics instructional method while teaching reading, lack the required competency to use the phonics instructional method and show poor disposition towards the phonics method. It was also found that teaching materials are available, but very few of them are used by teachers in teaching reading. These findings suggest that the implementation of the reading curriculum under the present UBE scheme is faced with many challenges.