Qvist, Jessica Lauren2024-09-172024-09-172023-08Qvist, Jessica Lauren. (2023). Learning profiles and reading benchmarks: Trends from South African data on early grade reading. [Master's dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WIReDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/40858https://hdl.handle.net/10539/40858A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Education (MEd), Education Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS), to the Faculty of Humanities, Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023.In South Africa, 90 percent of Setswana learners cannot read for meaning. In this study, I aimed to add to the existing knowledge base by developing learning profiles using the Early Grade Ready Study I longitudinal data. I tracked how Setswana learners with different genders as well as Grade 4 comprehension scores performed in early grade reading components. The findings reveal that learners enter Grade 1 with poor phonological awareness skills, they make slow progress with this skill as well as with letter sounds and word reading in the first grade and greater progress is only made in the second grade. The study also revealed that girls and learners with higher Grade 4 comprehension scores achieved higher phonological awareness, letter sound, word recognition, non-word recognition and oral reading fluency scores in the earlier grades than boys and learners with lower Grade 4 comprehension scores. The implications of this study with regard to teacher pedagogy, assessment and gender equality are discussed.en©2023 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.Early grade readingGenderSetswanaLerning profilesPhonological awarenessORFLetter soundsReading trajectoriesEGRSUCTDSDG-4: Quality educationDissertationUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg