SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND SCIENCE PROGRAMME CODE: PX3AA PROGRAMME TITLE: DOCTOR of EDUCATION (EdD) MODULE CODE: 8EU007 MODULE TITLE: Work Based Project (Independent Phase) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education (EdD) award of the University of Derby . A case study of a school in Zimbabwe: Investigating challenges faced by rural O-level students and strategies used by teachers in the English Reading- comprehension classes. By: MAXWELL OBEDIAH GUNDUZA KANYOKA: B.Phil. M.Ed. ID NUMBER: 100087076 May: 2018 i Sensitivity: Internal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My Director of studies, the late Dr Michael Flay, for his positive advice and never- ending constructive support in guiding me through the different stages of the research, and for his perceptive advice from whom I have learnt so much that will assist my own- going career; Then after his death his replacement, my programme co-ordinator Dr Neil Radford and first supervisor for his support and advice, my second supervisor Dr Codra Spencer for her unending zeal to help me include whatever she thought useful, advised and suggested as important to be included in the study; and my friend’s Dr Washington Karumazondo, Dr Kordwick Ndebele and Mr Onisimo Takaingofa for their unwavering support; The Ministry of Education Sport and Culture in Zimbabwe, which accommodated my study in one secondary school in Zimbabwe; The headmaster of the school where I carried out this study, the HoD and the department of English personnel who generously cooperated and allowed me to conduct this research during their busy schedules; The 8 wonderful teachers, their headmaster and the 20 enthusiastic students in the English Department, who cooperated passionately and allowed me to conduct thinking aloud tests, FGD, interviews, and observations at different times of the school day and even after school hours; The Secretary and Provincial Director of Education (PED), who allowed me to use their school in rural Zimbabwe for the benefit of this study and the ministry with interest and professionalism. ii Sensitivity: Internal LIST of FIGURES 1.1. Concept Mapping Concept Mapping on Problems due to 2008 crisis 8 2.1. Author’s image showing zone of proximal development (ZPD) 52 2.2. Author’s image showing interactions of factors affecting academic 57 background knowledge 2.3. Author’s image showing Rosemary’s academic achievement at three levels of academic background knowledge. 59 2.4. Author’s image showing semantic mapping with birds 65 2.5. Conceptual Framework Illustrated in Phases 70 3.1. Research methodology illustrating triangulation of methods to 75 achieve validity 3.2. Timeline for Data Gathering at Research School 97 3.3. Author’s image showing sources of evidence for case study 98 3.4. Advantages of Observation: Disadvantages of Observation 114 3.5. Data Analysis: The Analytic Hierarchy 135 3.6. Example of a cross-sectional data analysis 138 3.7. Code analysis of data 139 3.8. Colour coding analysis system 142 3.9. Data Coding management 143 3.10. Coding management of Collected Data 146 iii Sensitivity: Internal LIST of TABLES 2.1. Yearly Percentage Pass-Rates for X School 62 3.1. Homogenous stratified samples 124 3.2. Systematic samples 126 3.3. Showing open coding used in the data analysis 144 4.1. Outline from the think aloud on the expository text 150 4.2. Students’ scores from the expository text 151 4.3. Outcomes from the think aloud on the narrative text 151 4.4. Students’ scores from the narrative text 152 4.5. Students’ ability to ask themselves questions during reading 162 Responses from what students did when comprehension became 4.6. 164 difficult Reactions from what students did when reading-comprehension 4.7. 165 was successful 4.8. Purposively-sampled students 170 4.9. Purposively-sampled teachers 173 4.10. Other verbatim utterances by L2 students 200 4.11. An example of an observed lesson 206 4.12. XZ district composite-subjects’ results for 2008 213 4.13. XZ district composite-subjects’ results for 2009 214 4.14. XZ district results’ analysis for 2010 215 Yearly percentage pass rate in 5 subjects including English 4.15. 216 Language. ZIMSEC yearly national percentage pass rates in 5 subjects 4.16. 219 including the English Language from 2009 to 2012. iv Sensitivity: Internal CONTENTS Abstract xiii CHAPTER ONE 1 1.0. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Contextual Background on Educational Issues 2 Contextual Background in Relation to Political socio-economic 1.2. 3 and Educational Issues Facing Zimbabwe 1.3. Understanding the importance of the 2008 crisis to the study 6 1.4. The final Impact on Education by the 2008 Crisis 10 The Research School and School Development Committees 1.5. 13 (SDCs) 1.6. Summary on Teachers’ Conditions of Service 14 Rationale of the study and background information that leads to the 1.7. research. 14 1.8. Research questions 17 1.9. Significance of the Study 17 1.10. Strengths of the Research 18 1.11. Research methods 18 1.12. Brief Research Results 19 CHAPTER TWO 20 2.0. LITERATURE 20 2.1. Introduction 20 2.2. Overview of the literature 20 2.3.0. Communicative competence and promotion of CLT 22 2.3.1. The Communicative language teaching (CLT) approaches 25 2.3.2. Task-based language teaching (TBLT) 28 2.3.3. Major Characteristics of CLT 29 2.3.4. Critical Look at the Communicative Approach 32 36 2.3.5. Language as Discourse 2.3.6. Krashen and theories of L2 learning supporting CLT 40 v Sensitivity: Internal 2.3.7. A critical view of Krashen's comprehensible input 43 Language skills needed to answer O-level comprehension and 2.4.0. summary exam questions in Zimbabwe parentheses 46 2.4.1. Importance of Syntax in reading-comprehension 48 Challenges students are facing with O-level reading-comprehension 2.4.2. exams 53 Preparational strategies showing advantage of background 2.4.3. 55 knowledge Methods that Enhance acquisition of Vocabulary Synonym 2.5.0. 60 Language What makes reading-comprehension successful in O-level exam 2.5.1. 60 questions 2.5.2. Semantic mapping 63 2.5.3. Extensive Reading 66 2.5.4. Conceptual Framework 69 2.6.0. Conclusion 71 CHAPTER THREE 73 3.0. METHODOLOGY 73 3.1. Research questions 73 3.2. Choice of Research Methodology 74 3.3. Inductive versus deductive 78 3.4.0 Case Study 79 3.4.1. Critique of case study methodology 82 3.4.2. Internal and External-Validity 87 3.4.3. Exemplifying My Exploratory Case Study 89 3.4.4. Epistemological and Ontological and Paradigm Consideration 93 3.4.5. Research Approach 94 3.4.6. Research Methods 94 3.5.0 Research Protocols 95 3.5.1. Timeline of Data Gathering October 2010 to March 2011 97 3.5.2. Think-aloud as a method 97 3.5.3. Advantages of think-aloud 99 3.5.4. Disadvantages of think-aloud 101 vi Sensitivity: Internal 3.6.0. Interview as a method 104 3.6.1. Advantages of interviews 107 3.6.2. Collection of First-Person Data 107 3.6.3. Collection of Honest Feedback 108 3.6.4. Disadvantages of interviews 108 3.7.0. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as a Method 109 3.7.1. Advantages of FGD 109 3.7.2. Disadvantages of FGD 110 3.8.0. Observation as the main research method 111 3.8.1. Advantages of Observation 112 3.8.2. Disadvantages of Observation 115 3.9.0. Non-Participant observer 116 3.9.1. Non-participant-advantages 118 3.9.2. Non-participant-disadvantages 119 3.10.0. Sampling 119 3.10.1. Purposive Sampling 119 3.10.2. Justification for the choice of the Purposively-sampled School 120 3.10.3. Rationale for Purposive Sampling 121 3.11.0. Stratified Sampling of students 123 3.11.1. Advantages of stratified sampling 124 3.11.2. Disadvantages of stratified sampling 125 3.11.3. Systematic sampling 126 3.12.0. Validity and Reliability 127 Negotiating and Gaining Access and meeting the gatekeepers 3.12.1. 129 and research Protocols 3.12.2. Informed Consent Protocols 132 3.12.3. Ethical considerations and Ground-breaking Time 133 3.13.0. Thematic analysis 135 3.13.1. Analysis of data 137 3.13.2. Themes 141 vii Sensitivity: Internal 3.13.3. Coding of Collected Data 142 3.13.4. Pattern Coding 144 3.13.5. Procedures for the Analysis of the Data 145 3.14.0. Conclusion 147 CHAPTER FOUR 147 4.0. FINDINGS 148 4.1. Findings Focus 148 4.2. Research Questions 148 4.3.0. Data presentation 149 4.3.1. Think-aloud protocol-findings 149 4.3.2. Findings from the think-aloud 150 4.3.3 First FGD was conducted with students 153 4.3.3.1. Important reasons why quotations were used 154 4.3.3.2. What is your reason for reading library books? 157 4.3.3.3. What do you understand about reading comprehension? 159 What do you do when approaching different texts? 4.3.3.4. 160 (Expository/narrative) 4.3.3.5. Do you ask yourself questions during reading? 161 4.3.3.6. What do you do when reading-comprehension is not successful? 163 What do you do when you get a pass mark in reading- 4.3.3.7. 165 comprehension test? Are you able to summarise what you read in reading- 4.3.3.8. 166 comprehension? What do you do to assist yourself to comprehend better what 4.3.3.9.