(Re)envisioning and (re)imagining roles and collaborations of the stakeholders in tackling the reading crisis in South Africa

a literature review

Abstract

Thirty-one years into the new political dispensation, South Africa is still experiencing a reading crisis, particularly in the basic education band, where the majority of learners cannot read for meaning at their appropriate grade and age level reading norms. A myriad of contextual realities contribute to this reading crisis. The 2021 Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study (PIRLS) results indicate clearly that 81 per cent of learners from Grades 4 to 6 lack basic reading skills and, therefore, cannot read for meaning, which contributes to a reading crisis in the country. It is alarming that this cohort of learners cannot read with understanding, even in their own home languages (HL), such as Sepedi, isiZulu, isiXhosa and Setswana. In South Africa, the reading crisis has multiple and negative ramifications in the entire education system. Despite numerous interventions and strategies by the government through the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the situation is not improving but worsening. The purpose of the study was to investigate roles and possible collaborations that various stakeholders can play in embarking on tackling the reading crisis in the basic education band. The study adopted a literature review, which was regarded by the researchers as a qualitative research approach. A wide range of books, articles, theses, dissertations and magazines were consulted to study the roles and collaborations various stakeholders can embark on in tackling the reading crisis in the basic education band in South Africa. As the government, through the DBE, cannot be the only stakeholder responsible for tackling this impasse, the study recommends that collaborations or partnerships among the various stakeholders are essential in tackling the issue of the reading crisis in primary schools.