Foundation Phase Teachers’ Understanding on the Teaching of Reading Comprehension: is There a Solution?

Abstract

The purpose of the study was: (a) to explore  teachers’ attitudes towards teaching of reading comprehension ; (b) to establish the knowledge and attitude of the  teachers in facilitating reading comprehension. A sample of three schools each with two grade 3 classes from three primary schools participated in the study. Teachers’ individual interviews, focus group interviews and classroom observations was used to collect data in this study. The findings of the study revealed that the participating teachers had limited understanding of reading comprehension strategies. They regarded teaching comprehension as challenge and were stressed, confused and frustrated because learners could not read and understand the text and they did not know what comprehension strategies were and how to apply them. Furthermore, responses showed that teachers were uncertain of how to teach reading comprehension and there was little time spent on reading comprehension with no uniform approach amongst teachers on how to teach reading comprehension. Guided practice and time to practice comprehension strategies were absent in classrooms

More efforts are needed for teaching teachers how to teach reading comprehension. The findings of the study have significant implications for the university lecturer, teachers, and other stakeholders who are directly and indirectly involved in education.

Keywords: perception, teaching, learners, reading comprehension, teachers, Foundation Phase