Social psychologists have suggested that language-based ideologies related to "stereotype threat" (i.e. variations in performance-based on ability perceptions of language groups) may affect students' academic achievement regardless of school language support. However, it is unclear whether efforts to support students' first language…

In this article, preProgress in Reading Literacy Study (prePIRLS) 2011 data is used to compare the performance of different language of instruction groupings (English, Afrikaans and African languages) in primary schools on the more complex, higher-order reading comprehension items tested in a large-scale international test. PrePIRLS 2011…

In 2006 45 countries carried out the international literacy survey which revealed that the majority of 9-10 years children have not proper basic reading skills. Georgian children also took part in the survey. The fact that I work with future-teachers, who have to teach children to read and write, led me to become interested in this issue. Literacy…

Egypt has long promised quality basic education. Nevertheless, international and national assessments show poor reading skills. Community schools (CS) are a component of Egypt's Education for All strategy. CS were intended to offer quality education to children who otherwise would have no chance to complete primary school. Previous studies report…

Home language (HL) effects on academic language literacy have been extensively discussed. However, previous research has mostly focused on Indo--European languages. This study extends the literature by using data (n = 17,600) collected in a diversified language area: Guangxi, China. We examined the effects of four HLs and four socioeconomic…

The current study examines the effects of the sociocultural context of primary school reading among Arabic- and English-speaking students in the UAE. Using a sample of 16,391 fourth graders (English: n = 10,507; Arabic: n = 5,884) from the 2016 Process in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), results revealed that while early language…

The study examined the relationships between self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies used by 2,894 bilingual primary school students and their Chinese and English reading test performance. Exploratory factor analysis of the self-reported SRL strategy use questionnaire yielded two factors of strategies (planning and monitoring) used in both…

Singapore has launched a bilingual education policy nationwide, which leads to three main home language environments amongst Chinese families, namely, Chinese dominant, Chinese-English bilingual families and English dominant families. However, little is known about the development of early reading abilities among Singapore children from these…

International student assessments are used to measure the education system quality in many countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, student performances in these exams are influenced by a complex array of factors. This study collected interview data from six central officials, three school principals and vice principals, and 12…

How does literacy develop in children's early years, and what programs or practices promote adequate literacy for all children? These are the questions Catherine Snow and Timothy Matthews tackle in this article. Fundamental literacy skills can be grouped into two categories, Snow and Matthews write. The first category is "constrained"…

This study considers the issue of weak literacy development and early school leaving in Malta. In spite of a lack of a direct or indirect causal link between the two, in the case of Malta these issues seem to be almost exclusively specific to children attending the State school. Children from the Church and the Independent sectors are minimally…

Reading strategy instruction is positively related to students' reading literacy. However, little is known about how reading instruction that emphasizes different types of reading strategies affects reading literacy. This study examined how Singapore primary school teachers' reading strategy instruction affected Grade Four students' reading…

Initial teacher education (ITE) serves as a bridge between prospective teachers exiting the school system to enrol in teacher education faculties, on the one hand and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who are embarking on a career in schooling on the other. The present paper describes the language and thinking skills student teachers bring to their…

This study identifies factors predicting reading literacy achievement among Grade 4 students in South Africa by utilizing Vygotsky's social interaction theory. The study draws on the preProgress in International Reading Literacy Study (prePIRLS) 2011 data, which places South African Grade 4 students' results below the international centre point of…

Despite the fact that Singaporean students consistently perform well in literacy tests such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, employers have reported that Singaporean employees in general lack confidence in articulating their views in the workplace. This may be attributed to the practice of teacher-fronted and monologic…