Abstract
Reading is not simply an additional tool that students need at university; it constitutes the very process whereby learning occurs. Pre-service students are required to read prescribed course material which is predominantly in English. An overview of the reading literacy profiles of first-year BEd foundation phase students from diverse language backgrounds in a Faculty of Education Sciences indicates a diverse pattern of strengths and needs in terms of pseudo-word reading, spelling, oral reading fluency, vocabulary size and depth, and reading comprehension. An assessment and support rocket system for addressing the academic reading literacy needs of these students is discussed. This system seeks not only to facilitate success for all students, but also to fulfil requirements of quality student outcomes and timely completion and throughput rates.
Highlights
National and international assessment studies indicate that the reading achievement of South African learners is a major cause for concern (Howie, Van Staden, Tshele et al 2012; RSA Department of Basic Education (DBE) 2013)
The results indicated that the first-year Baccalaureus in Education (BEd) students are diverse and that their reading literacy profiles are very uneven across the various components of reading assessed in this study
Given the profile of reading strengths and needs of the foundation phase pre-service teachers, it is important that teacher educators be prepared to teach these students reading skills and strategies in each of the reading component areas
Summary
National and international assessment studies indicate that the reading achievement of South African learners is a major cause for concern (Howie, Van Staden, Tshele et al 2012; RSA DBE 2013). There is an increasingly widespread perception within higher education that the reading literacy skills of students from both English-speaking backgrounds and nonEnglish-speaking backgrounds do not allow them to meet the demands of their degree courses and, subsequently, those of the workplace (Murray 2010; Scott, Yeld & Hendry 2007). This view is confirmed by Bean (1996:133): Many of today’s students are poor readers, overwhelmed by the density of their college textbooks and baffled by the strangeness and complexity of primary sources and by their unfamiliarity with academic discourse. Structures need to be put in place to ensure consistent and gradual development of academic reading skills for all students
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