Sesotho and IsiZulu Reading Project (SIRP)

About

Reading is poorly taught in the majority of South African schools: 81% of Grade 4 learners failed to attain the lowest benchmark – literal understanding – in the 2021 iteration of the PIRLS assessment. Children learn to read best in their mother tongue first, yet many learners speaking African languages performed poorly in the assessment, highlighting that the improvement of reading in African languages is a most urgent priority. This is especially because low literacy has knock-on effect on performance in key subjects, including mathematics.

The Sesotho and isiZulu Reading Project (SIRP) aims to address this need by offering a course in reading pedagogy for B.Ed programmes in the Foundation and Intermediate Phase, and assisting Education Faculties to incorporate it into their curricula.

Project Objectives and Outcomes

SIRP aims to support universities to strengthen the teaching of reading in B.Ed Foundation and Intermediate Phases, by offering mentorship, support resources and curriculum strengthening capacity to teacher educators. The 7 SIRP modules were co-developed by African languages lecturers and teacher educators from a number of South African universities, and have been rigorously reviewed and versioned to be further adapted to the unique teaching and learning contexts of different institutions.

Through strengthening teacher educator knowledge and practice in the field of reading pedagogy and African languages, SIRP aims to effect change in the knowledge and practice of student teachers, equipping them to successfully teach South African learners to read in their home languages.

The SIRP Resource Repository also offers open-source teaching, learning and academic resources to support your interest in the field of reading and African languages. We encourage the use of the SIRP modules in more universities and welcome further contact in this regard.

Project Management and Steering

SIRP is a partnership between the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the University of Johannesburg (UJ), JET Education Services (JET) and a number of donors (Current Phase: the Maitri Trust, Zenex Foundation, Epoch & Optima Trusts; Past: Nedbank Foundation and Old Mutual Life Assurance).

The project is governed by a Project Steering Committee (PSC) consisting of representatives of the donors, the DHET and DBE, the University of Johannesburg, and experts in the teaching of reading, with JET acting as the project management office (PMO). The SIRP PMO oversees project management and operations, finance and administration, and programme advocacy. Mentorship support to HEIs is offered by a dedicated service provider awarded through competitive tender (Class Act Educational Services).

The SIRP PSC meets quarterly on matters relating to project governance, financial management, implementation progress and monitoring. The PMO is also required to meet the auditing and financial due diligence standards of JET.

Implementation

The implementation of the SIRP modules is managed by Class Act Educational Services, which has tailored a mentorship and colloquium programme to co-create and share knowledge of reading pedagogy in Sesotho and IsiZulu with interested academics at 11 South African universities.

Structure and Aims

The SIRP mentorship programme focuses on learning about what teacher educators know, and co-creating a programme of knowledge development in the field of reading pedagogy in either Sesotho or IsiZulu.

• Mentorship occurs over intensive two-day breakaway sessions structured according to key focus areas in the SIRP modules.

• Virtual regional colloquia offer spaces for reflection and further engagement on issues in teaching reading emerging from mentorship, and are also open to attend for anyone interested in the topic.

• Coach mentors work with teacher educators throughout the year to support their integration of SIRP materials in their teaching, with the aim of improving how student teachers teach reading at early grade levels.

The implementation programme supports the operationalisation of the main SIRP objectives:

• To enhance quality and capacity in the teaching of reading for BEd Foundation and Intermediate Phases at target universities;

• To offer a novel course in reading pedagogy for lecturers and students that is both useful and accessible;

• To support the institutionalisation of strengthened curricula for teaching reading in the B.Ed FP and IP programmes;

• And in the long term, to ensure that NQTs from participant programmes are better equipped to teach reading in the target languages and phases.

News and Updates

There are also important developments currently underway in the education sector which are critical to the work of SIRP and its partners. These include the review of the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ) policy, and the upcoming review of the B.Ed degree by the Council on Higher Education. Updates about these processes will also be shared over time.