Improving Early Literacy Outcomes : Curriculum, Teaching, and Assessment

Learning To Read And Write For Meaning And Pleasure Are Arguably The Two Most Important Competences That Children Acquire In Primary School. Yet, In 2019 More Than One Half Of Children Worldwide Do Not Reach This First Rung On The Literacy Ladder. Improving Early Literacy Outcomes Aims To Address This Head-on, By Foregrounding The Work Of More Than 40 Researchers, Most Of Them Living In, And Working On, Developing Countries. Their Contributions Illuminate, Magnify, And Discover Anew The Importance Of Improving Early Reading, Through Precise Alignment Of Curriculum, Teaching, And Assessment, And With A Special Focus On Some Of The Most Under-studied Countries In The World (e.g., Burkina Faso, Niger, And Senegal). Through Probing Analyses Of Research, Policy, And Practice, The Book Highlights The Common Experiences Of High Aspirations Repeatedly Confronting Harsh Realities. Sixteen Interconnected Chapters Cast An Ever-vigilant And Deflationary Eye On The Temptation To Take An Unrealistic Approach To Early Literacy, And Also Caution Against Lumping All Languages, Contexts, And Policy-challenges Into A Single Heap. This Book Provides An Indispensable Guide To Policymakers, Practitioners, Educators, And Academics Working Towards The Realisation Of The Un Sustainable Development Goals (sdgs). Improving The Teaching, Learning, And Assessment Of Early Grade Literacy Is Key Not Only To Expanding The Quality, Access, And Equity Of Education, But Also To Unlocking All The Other Sdgs, And Ultimately To Driving Development. Front Matter -- Copyright Page -- Foreword / Mmantsetsa Marope -- Notes On The Chapters -- Notes On Contributors -- Introduction / Nic Spaull -- The Early Reading Curriculum / Claire Mclachlan -- Aligning Curriculum And Assessment In Early Reading Education / Peter Afflerbach -- Assessing Early Literacy Outcomes In Burkina Faso And Senegal / Nic Spaull And Adaiah Lilenstein -- Getting It Right From The Start / Elizabeth J. Pretorius -- The Teaching Of Reading And Writing In Second- And Multi-language Contexts / Robert Savage And Marie-france Côté -- Early Literacy Instruction In India / Shobha Sinha -- Challenges Associated With Reading Acquisition In Sub-saharan Africa / Heikki Lyytinen, Emma Ojanen, Jacqueline Jere-folotiya, Stella Damaris Ngorosho, Francis Sampa, Pamela February, Flora Malasi, Jonathan Munachaka, Christopher Yalukanda, Kenneth Pugh And Robert Serpell -- Entering Into The Written Culture To Overcome Inequalities / Alejandra Medina -- Those Children Who Are Left Behind / Beatriz Diuk -- We Want To Learn / Ana María Borzone And Mariela Vanesa De Mier -- Powerful Reforms In Early Language And Literacy Instruction In India / Shailaja Menon, Sajitha S. Kutty, Neela Apte, Abha Basargekar And Ramchandar Krishnamurthy -- Integrating Curriculum, Teaching, And Learning Materials To Improve Learning Outcomes In Early Grade Reading / Amapola Alama -- Teaching And Learning To Read And Write In A Multilingual Context / Bernard Schneuwly, Sandrine Aeby Daghé, Irina Leopoldoff, Glaís Sales Cordeiro, Thérèse Thévenaz-christen And Simon Toulou -- Teaching Reading In Burkina Faso / Sandrine Aeby Daghé, Irina Leopoldoff, Thérèse Thévenaz-christen And Victor Yaméogo -- Modules To Train Teachers To Teach Reading And Writing In Niger / Bernard Schneuwly, Simon Toulou And Maman Mallam Garba -- Senegal / Thérèse Thévenaz-christen And Glaís Sales Cordeiro. Edited By Nic Spaull And John P. Comings. Includes Bibliographical References.