Observing literacy pedagogies: A comparison of how first- and fourth-year preservice teachers analyse practice

Abstract

South Africa is facing a literacy crisis. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2021 found that 81% of the country’s 10-year-olds are unable to read for meaning. If learners do not acquire literacy competence in the Foundation Phase, the rest of their schooling may be adversely affected. To improve literacy outcomes in South African schools, future teachers must do more than replicate ineffective practices. They need to notice and interpret the literacy pedagogies used and be able to think about their effectiveness. This research offers insights into the extent to which by their final year of study, preservice teachers have developed the capacity to describe, interpret and appraise reading pedagogies. Importantly, this includes an examination of what they consider significant and how they leverage specialised insights to interpret their observations. This is a comparative study of three cohorts of South African Foundation Phase pre- service teachers at different levels of their training, all watching and commenting on the same lesson. I use Legitimation Code Theory to compare lesson observation reports written by Foundation Phase preservice teachers who were at the start and end of their teacher education. The findings indicate that seventy percent of final- year participants demonstrated a deeper and more nuanced understanding of reading pedagogies, showing a progression in their ability to describe, interpret, and appraise literacy teaching practices. They demonstrated an ability to recruit theoretical insights to “delve deeper,” bringing bodies of knowledge they have learnt in their coursework to bear on observations of practice. Only 34% of first-year participants demonstrated this ability. However, approximately 30% of final-year participants did not offer a deeper analysis of what they observed. The findings point towards difficulties with “untangling” word recognition from language comprehension whilst at the same time being able to recognise their connection to one another, and their equal contribution to reading comprehension. These findings suggest that preservice teachers require greater guidance to see theory in practice, and practice in theory when it comes to the teaching of reading. Teacher educators should find ways to design interactions that shape preservice teachers’ ways of thinking about the teaching of reading. In addition, the content and delivery of the language and literacy coursework offered within ITE programmes should be consistently evaluated to ensure an alignment with evidence-based practices and the most recent advances in reading sciences.