Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS)

This research study sought to examine the results of three interventions to improve teachers’ instructional practice – one with block training twice a year (which included provision of scripted lesson plans, materials and training), another with the same block training and ongoing support from a reading coach, and a third involving parents. The intervention with reading coaches was found to be a critical component in the persistence of gains.

Author(s): Department of Basic Education

Additional Info

This significant study was the first systematic large-scale Randomised Control Trail (RCT) study undertaken in South Africa, to compare the cost-effectiveness of three different intervention models on early literacy performance in an African Home Language, Tswana. This study tracked 4 500 children (20 each from 230 schools), most of whom came from homes that typically had few books and a limited engagement by parents or caregivers with the learners in reading activities. One component was observations of 60-school lessons in intervention and control group schools. Another was two sets of detailed case studies in six rural and urban schools that looked at changes in teachers’ instructional practices as the result of the two interventions. An impact study looked at who benefited from the three types of intervention and the different impact of the interventions on different types of learners and schools and made a number of recommendations.

A number of reports were issued by the EGRS in 2017:

Department of Basic Education. 2017. The Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS). Infographic. Pretoria: Department of Basic Education.

Department of Basic Education. 2017. Classroom observation study. The Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS). August 2017. Pretoria: Department of Basic Education.

Department of Basic Education. 2017. The Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS): In-depth case studies of home language literacy practices in four Grade 2 classrooms in Treatment 1 and 2 schools (October 2016 to January 2017). Pretoria: Department of Basic Education.

Department of Basic Education. 2017. Family influences on early grade reading. The Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS). August 2017. Pretoria: Department of Basic Education.

Department of Basic Education. 2017. The Early Grade Reading Study. Impact evaluation after two years of interventions. Technical Report. 13 October 2017. Pretoria: Department of Basic Education.

Department of Basic Education. 2017. Summary Report. Results of Year 2 Impact Evaluation. August 2017. Pretoria: Department of Basic Education.

Department of Basic Education. 2017. Policy summary. Results of Year 2 Impact Evaluation. The Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS): August 2017. Pretoria: Department of Basic Education.

EGRS infographic.pdf - 1335 KB