PHD-Department of Educational Communication & Technology
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Browsing PHD-Department of Educational Communication & Technology by Author "Bwire, A. M."
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Item Aetiology of instructional practices for reading in english in rural primary schools in Kisii central district, Kisii county Kenya(Kenyatta University, 2014) Andima, George Morara; Gathumbi, Agnes W.; Bwire, A. M.Learning to read in a second language is a complex challenge for every child. Children require a range of skills and abilities to learn to read. The ability to read with understanding is one of the most important skills for learners, not only in English language but also in other school subjects. Kenyan primary school pupils‘ reading performance as indicated in the sources cited in this thesis has for a long time been generally poor. Perhaps, this may be due to the inappropriate instructional practices used by teachers during reading lessons. This study aimed at examining the aetiology of the instructional practices prevalent in the teaching of reading in standard 4 in selected rural primary schools in Kisii central district, Kisii County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives: Explore the nature of instructional practices that characterize the teaching of reading in standard 4, investigate the factors that influence a teachers‘ choice of instructional practices in teaching reading, establish the level of parental involvement in promoting children‘s reading development, explore the instructional resources used in the teaching of reading, establish the challenges teachers face in the teaching of reading and find out how teachers cope with the challenges encountered. The researcher used a descriptive survey research design to establish the standard 4 reading instructional situation in rural primary schools in Kisii central district. Three sampling techniques were used to draw the samples for the study namely: proportional stratified sampling technique, criterion purposive sampling technique and simple random sampling technique. The study sample consisted of: 20 headteachers and 20 teachers teaching standard 4 English Language from the sampled schools. The research instruments used for data collection included: classroom observation schedule, interview schedule, questionnaires and instructional resource checklist. The instruments were pilot tested to ensure validity and reliability. Both qualitative as well as quantitative data were generated. Qualitative data were organized according to the study themes and presented descriptively on the basis of the study objectives and research questions. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative data, Chi square was used to test for association between independent and dependent variables. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 was used to process the data. The key findings of this study point to the fact that the reading instructional situation in the study location is wanting. The reading instructional environment in the classrooms lacked key literacy support materials, most teachers‘ instructional activities were course-book driven. If teachers are to make reasonable progress in reading instruction then, appropriate reading activities must be selected and applied in classroom instruction. The findings are to help Kenyan primary school teachers evaluate their instructional practices in the teaching of reading, help the curriculum developers in: selecting and sequencing appropriate content for primary English language education and English language education for teacher trainees and also aid in carrying out in-service training courses among othersItem Learner competencies and proficiency in English listening comprehension in selected secondary schools in Kenya(2011-12-01) Bwire, A. M.This study aimed at measuring learners' listening comprehension proficiency in order to establish their weaknesses and strengths in this area. It also sought to analyse the listening materials learners were exposed to and the extent to which listening skills were taught. Factors affecting listening comprehension proficiency were also explored. A stratified sample of 520 students, 56 teachers and 8 heads of department, English section from 15 schools in two districts were involved. An audio- based test was used to measure students' listening comprehension proficiency. Content analysis of the Integrated English Book 3 (1992) was done to assess the quantity and quality of listening materials and tasks. A questionnaire for teachers of English was used to get information about the teaching of listening comprehension. This was complemented by interviews with heads of department and Kenya Institute of Education English curriculum head. Instruments were refined through a pilot study. Data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. Procedures used for data analysis were frequencies, means, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlations. Inferential statistics (the t- test) were used to explain observed differences and address the factors determining listening competencies. Results indicated that English language course books had negligible provision for materials and tasks that promote listening and that teachers were not guided on teaching listening skills yet they wholly depended on the same course books for teaching the same. The majority of students (89.6%) performed poorly on listening comprehension skills. Further, students scored better on explicit items than on inferential items. Performance was poorest on skills that tested competence in listening to dialogue, drawing inferences, inferring meanings of unfamiliar words, paraphrasing and predicting outcomes. These were also the students' areas of weakness among the micro-skills tested. Areas of relative strength were found to be those that demanded competence in listening for specifics and details. Urban school students performed better on listening comprehension skills than those in rural schools and students in boarding schools performed better than those in day schools on the same. Mixed day schools recorded the poorest performance. There was no consistent relationship between girls' and boys' performance on the listening comprehension test girls' scores in mixed schools were significantly (at 0.05 level) lower than those of boys in the same schools. Boys in rural schools performed significantly better than the girls in the rural schools. Although, the boys in urban schools performed better than the girls, there was generally no significant difference between their performance on the listening comprehension test. Among the main conclusions made were: teaching of listening skills was not given its due emphasis; type of school affected learners' listening comprehension abilities; boarding environment gave students better cognitive disposition; gender did not make a difference in performance in listening comprehension, test material type and task were significant in ESL listening and students were more inclined to listen with understanding to continuous prose than to dialogue.