Doctoral thesis
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of EQUIP-T and LANES projects in improving teacher’s competencies in reading instruction for standard two pupils in Tanzania. It intended to understand what was practically done to improve teacher’s competencies in reading instruction, and what yet needed to be done for the reading development framework. Four research questions were posed: 1) What are the opinions of the actors in EQUIP-T and LANES PD on the ability of these projects on improving teacher’s competencies to teach reading in standard two?, 2) What were the ways in which the two professional development projects supported teachers to develop their competencies to teach reading in standard two?, 3) How did standard two teachers use competencies gained from the EQUIP-T and LANES reading projects to improve reading practices in classrooms?; and 4) What effect did the two professional development projects on teacher competencies have on standard two pupils reading outcomes? Understanding of learning to read and reading to learn was guided by the theoretical framework based on two learning theories, the behaviourism and social constructivism as well as the evaluation model developed by Guskey. Guskey’s evaluation framework focuses on five levels namely, participant reactions, participant learning, organisational support and change, participant use of new knowledge-skills, and pupils‟ learning outcomes. The study used a mixed method research approach. Data collection methods were interviews, observation, questionnaire, focus group discussion, documentary review and tests. Data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively where the researcher used SPSS version 21- computer software. The study was conducted in four districts in Dodoma and Geita regions with total sample size of 191. The findings indicate that PD projects were effective to standard two teachers and largely improved their conceptual, motivation and pedagogical competencies on teaching reading. The extent to which teacher’s competencies in reading instruction were improved depended greatly on the training modality and in-school support. Inadequacies in follow–ups, training time, school infrastructure, mentorship, lack of incentives, teachers‟ workload, coordination, overcrowded classes, study groups and leadership from head teachers, were the factors that were affecting the teacher’s learning and application of the learned competencies. It was found that the school INSET Coordinators (SICs) are important and resourceful persons towards strengthening the PD reading activities; and integrating different school actors in training is critical for the ownership, collaborative accountability and improved coordination of PD activities. In addition, the reading test results provided the pupils with reading status, which built assumptions related to improvement in the observed teachers‟ competencies to teach reading, particularly about phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension compared to fluency and phonemic awareness. The study concludes that the two projects have improved the teachers‟ competencies to teach reading, and addressed the lessons learned. In the light of these findings, the study recommends two important interventions: first, various measures likely to impact more on developing fully the teacher’s competencies to teach reading in Tanzania; and second, an Integrated School-based Professional Learning Model (ISPLM). The study has suggested future directions for further research on reading instruction and teacher profession development.