ERIC Number: EJ1235337
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2223-7674
EISSN: N/A
Measuring the Outcomes of a Literacy Programme in No-Fee Schools in Cape Town
South African Journal of Childhood Education, v9 n1 Article 677 2019
Background: Most funders require non-governmental organisations to evaluate the effectiveness of their programmes. However, in our experience, funders seldom fund evaluation endeavours and organisational staff often lack evaluation skills. Aim: In this outcome evaluation of Living through Learning's (LTL) class-based English-medium Coronation Reading Adventure Room programme, we addressed two evaluation questions: whether Grade 1 learners who participated in the programme attained LTL's and the Department of Basic Education's (DBE) literacy standards at the end of the programme and whether teacher attributes contributed to this improvement. Setting: The evaluation was conducted in 18 different no-fee schools in Cape Town. Participants comprised 1090 Grade 1 learners and 54 teachers. Methods: We used Level 2 (programme design and theory) and part of Level 4 (outcome) of an evaluation hierarchy to assess the effectiveness of the programme. Results: Evaluation results showed that most schools, except three, attained the 60% performance standard set by the LTL on all quarterly assessments. Most schools, except two, attained the 50% performance standard of the DBE for English first language on all quarterly assessments. We also found that in terms of teacher attributes, only teacher experience in literacy teaching was significant in predicting learner performance in literacy in the first term of school. Conclusion: We explain why our results should be interpreted with caution and make recommendations for future evaluations in terms of design, data collection and levels of evaluation.
Descriptors: Literacy Education, Program Effectiveness, Program Evaluation, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Language of Instruction, Reading Programs, Standards, Grade 1, Elementary School Teachers, Elementary School Students, Foreign Countries, Reading Achievement, Teacher Attitudes, Reading Improvement, Reading Tests
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa (Cape Town)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A