Contextual analysis of home environment factors influencing the acquisition of early reading skills in Zambian families

This study examined the effect of home environment factors in the acquisition of early reading skills (orthographic awareness and decoding competence). To assess these factors, a sample of seventy-two (72) first grade learners (females = 55%; age range = 7–8 years) and their maternal parents (age range 26–61 years old) from low SES in Zambia's capital city, Lusaka were recruited. Parents, in response to a home literacy questionnaire, reported on their attitudes towards reading, literacy teaching in the home, the home literacy environment, presence of reading materials for adults and children, parental education, occupation, family size and family possessions. Two measures of reading skill w…

The effect of using a mobile literacy game to improve literacy levels of grade one students in Zambian schools

This intervention study was conducted to document conditions under which a computer based literacy game (GraphoGame™) could enhance literacy skills of first grade students in an African city. The participants were first grade students from Government schools (N = 573). These students were randomly sampled into control (N = 314) and various intervention groups (N = 259). GraphoGame™ was administered on cellphones to students at their schools under supervision. Each student in the study was assessed using a battery of locally developed cognitive tests that measured emergent literacy skills (Orthography test), decoding competence (Spelling test), vocabulary (Picture Vocabulary Test—PVT) and ar…

The acquisition of early reading skills : the influence of the home environment in Lusaka, Zambia

A Culturally Sensitive Approach to Promoting Initial Literacy Development in Africa : Ongoing and Planned Research and Development at the University of Zambia’s Centre for Promotion of Literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa (CAPOLSA)

A four-year research and development program at CAPOLSA (the Centre for the Promotion of Literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa) was inspired by widespread dissatisfaction with poor literacy outcomes of mass basic schooling in Zambia and sought to test the generalizability of a scientifically grounded, computer-mediated instructional resource developed in Finland, for effective intervention in an African society where different linguistic and educational conditions obtain. Specific challenges and opportunities posed by the local sociocultural context included the prevalence of multilingualism, the relatively transparent orthographies of local languages, and poor infrastructure of the public school …

The Role of Family on Pathways to Acquiring Early Reading Skills In Lusaka’s Low-Income Communities

This paper reports findings from the study that examined the role of family in children’s acquisition of early reading skills. We recruited 72 first-grade learners and their parents from low-income Zambian families for the study. In response to a home literacy questionnaire, parents reported on their reading attitudes and family literacy environment. Children’s early reading skills were assessed using two early reading tests (orthographic awareness and decoding competence), both conducted at two different points during the year. Regression analyses of pretest and gain scores revealed that parental reading attitude and family literacy environment significantly predicted early reading skills.…