This study aimed at establishing and analysing the literacy practices in the rural and urban communities and their effect on the academic achievements of learners. It also aimed to establish the impact of other factors, such as the exposure to the language of examination, the level of parents formal education and the quality of parental mediation in the their children's academic work, which could be responsible for the imbalance between the rural and urban learners academic achievements. This study endeavours to established that the literacy practices in urban areas prepare learners for schooled and global literacies while the literacies in rural areas are to localised and thus impoverish the learners initial literacy development. This study also seek to determine the extent to which the current language policy in education in Uganda favours the urban learners at the expense of the rural learners as far as the acculturation into and acquisition of the schooled and global literacies are concerned.
Living through Languages: An African Tribute to René Dirven is a collection of scholarly research meant to honour the various facets of his academic legacy, which includes language policy and politics, language acquisition (specifically in multilingual societies), the role of English and English language teaching, and a life-long interest in cognitive linguistics.
The Uganda school system has expanded over the years resulting from mass education reforms at the primary – since 1997, and the lower secondary level – since 2007. This has enabled provision of key inputs to schools by Government which include tuition, trained teachers, school infrastructure, and learning materials. The curriculum for the primary level was also reviewed. However, completion rates and learning outcomes are still low which points to inefficiency and low quality of education provided. Current discourse on education is focused on the need to improve efficiency and quality of education. This study is therefore, an attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of learning outcomes and teacher effectiveness, drawing from the nationally owned and multi-year assessment data sets for Uganda between 2006-2011. This book provides some answers to questions like: What are the performance levels of learners over the years? What are the curriculum areas that learners find most difficult as measured by their performance and have these been the same over the years? What determines learners’ performance? What is the content knowledge level of the teachers? What are the teacher characteristics that determine learners’ performance? How effective are the teachers? Guidance on next steps is also provided. The main contribution of this book is three fold: (a) It explores learners’ performance by curriculum area; (b) It links learners’ performance with teachers’ competency levels by curriculum content area, making it one of the very few materials available in the Africa region. It therefore, amplifies the importance of focusing on what learners find a problem in the teaching-learning process in the quest for quality. The findings also reveal that teacher effectiveness is very low and efforts to improve instructional methods have to be prioritized by Government; and (c), it provides insights on the various dimensions to the education quality and efficiency challenge that many developing countries are grappling with today, and the depth of analysis that have to be undertaken.
Over 800 million adults worldwide, two thirds of them women, are unable to reap the benefits of literate expression. In this book, the author aims to dispel the notion that illiteracy is principally confined to rural areas, which has for many years been the main focus of development programmes. Through a series of case studies and analysis this book provides a valuable insight into what literacy can mean in an urban setting and explores the many ways it is used to enhance the lives of individuals. It highlights the need for greater understanding of the diversity of literacy learning and explores the practical issues in providing assistance to those who aspire to improve their literacy skills.
'The Impact of School Infrastructure on Learning: A Synthesis of the Evidence provides an excellent literature review of the resources that explore the areas of focus for improved student learning, particularly the aspiration for “accessible, well-built, child-centered, synergetic and fully realized learning environments.†? Written in a style which is both clear and accessible, it is a practical reference for senior government officials and professionals involved in the planning and design of educational facilities, as well as for educators and school leaders. --Yuri Belfali, Head of Division, Early Childhood and Schools, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills This is an important and welcome addition to the surprisingly small, evidence base on the impacts of school infrastructure given the capital investment involved. It will provide policy makers, practitioners, and those who are about to commission a new build with an important and comprehensive point of reference. The emphasis on safe and healthy spaces for teaching and learning is particularly welcome. --Harry Daniels, Professor of Education, Department of Education, Oxford University, UK This report offers a useful library of recent research to support the, connection between facility quality and student outcomes. At the same time, it also points to the unmet need for research to provide verifiable and reliable information on this connection. With such evidence, decisionmakers will be better positioned to accurately balance the allocation of limited resources among the multiple competing dimensions of school policy, including the construction and maintenance of the school facility. --David Lever, K-12 Facility Planner, Former Executive Director of the Interagency Committee on School Construction, Maryland Many planners and designers are seeking a succinct body of research defining both the issues surrounding the global planning of facilities as well as the educational outcomes based on the quality of the space provided. The authors have finally brought that body of evidence together in this well-structured report. The case for better educational facilities is clearly defined and resources are succinctly identified to stimulate the dialogue to come. We should all join this conversation to further the process of globally enhancing learning-environment quality! --David Schrader, AIA, Educational Facility Planner and Designer, Former Chairman of the Board of Directors, Association for Learning Environments (A4LE)
Rural Literacies identifies the problems inherent in trying to understand rural literacy, addresses the lack of substantive research on literacy in rural areas, and reviews traditional misrepresentations of rural literacy. This innovative volume frames debates over literacy in relation to larger social, political, and economic forces, such as the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on rural schools and the effects of out-migration, globalization, and the loss of small family farms on rural communities. Drawing upon traditional literacy and composition research and employing theory from education and sociology, the text engages compositionists in broader conversations regarding rural literacies. The authors share strategies that will help compositionists participate in pedagogies that are rooted in a richer understanding of rural literacies and work toward sustainability for all communities in a globalized age.
Following a range of individual students in various formal learning situations, this book explores how people's lives shape their learning. Based on a major research project, it highlights many issues that will have an effect on policy and practice.
In Literacy as Conversation, the authors tell stories of successful literacy learning outside of schools and inside communities, both within urban neighborhoods of Philadelphia and rural and semi-rural towns of Arkansas. They define literacy not as a basic skill but as a rich, broadly interactive human behavior: the ability to engage in a conversation carried on, framed by, or enriched through written symbols. Eli Goldblatt takes us to after-school literacy programs, community arts centers, and urban farms in the city of Philadelphia, while David Jolliffe explores learning in a Latinx youth theater troupe, a performance based on the words of men on death row, and long-term cooperation with a rural health care provider in Arkansas. As different as urban and rural settings can be—and as beset as they both are with the challenges of historical racism and economic discrimination—the authors see much to encourage both geographical communities to fight for positive change.
