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South Africa participated in the electronic version of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (ePIRLS) in 2016 but faced many challenges during implementation. Accurate databases on information and communication technologies (ICT) capacity of schools were not available for sampling in Gauteng, many schools had old and/or non-functional hardware and half of the schools had not used their computer laboratories in the last 3 years. Consequently, South Africa was excluded from the international report as the study requirements could not be met. In this paper we examine the implications of the problems experienced in the ePIRLS multiple case study, conducted in 9 schools (n = 277) in Gauteng. Multilevel models were built using data from the nationally representative Grade 4 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) data from 2011 (n = 15,744) and 2016 (n = 12,810). In the 2016 national study, principals and teachers reported fewer computers and libraries being available for learners than were reported in 2011. Computers and paper-based libraries being available were not significant predictors of reading literacy. Instead, the medium of instruction in the Foundation Phase, school location, gender, and socioeconomic composition of the school predicted reading literacy achievement. The ePIRLS results show no significant difference between paper-based and online reading. While issues of poverty, gender inequality, and historical disadvantage persist, Grade 4 learners may lack adequate opportunities to acquire paper and digital reading skills. We conclude that the most disadvantaged learners have increasingly insufficient opportunities and resources available to attain basic reading skills and this will have negative long-term consequences for South Africa's educational sector and economy.

Background: South Africa's participation across a number of international large-scale assessment programmes provides continued evidence of poor student achievement across grades and phases. Despite discouraging achievement results, evidence of slow progress begins to emerge, yet systemic inequalities persist. Aim: This article aims to unpack the possible value of large-scale assessment data in measuring equal educational opportunity as conceptualised by the opportunity to learn (OTL). Setting: While overall scores on international large-scale assessment in countries like South Africa are often driven by aptitude, student motivation and social class, OTL, as described in this article, should provide a more accurate reflection of the nature of performance and the kinds of opportunities afforded to students across an unequal sector to learn. Methods: A multiple linear regression was conducted using the South African PIRLS 2016 teacher and student questionnaire data and the PIRLS Literacy Grade 4 overall reading literacy performance score as the dependent variable. Results: While socio economic status makes a substantial contribution in the current model, the only predictor that was significant is the scale based on student reports on lessons about reading. Conclusion: Through the use of multiple regression analysis, this article concludes that a more effective use of large-scale assessment data from an OTL perspective, specifically in developing contexts, is still problematic using teacher and student questionnaire data. Issues of social desirability and overly positive reporting make any claims about the teachers' role in providing opportunities to learn and exposure to the curriculum in the classroom difficult to gauge.

Current pedagogical approaches to science and technology policy studies in southern African universities may fail to provide students with the necessary capabilities to be effective as innovation policy practitioners. This study investigated whether consideration of epistemic diversity and the situatedness of knowledge could enhance student outcomes in terms of agency and self-efficacy. A pedagogical intervention was designed and implemented for a postgraduate course in engineering economics, following which the students rated their experiences through an online questionnaire. The COVID-19 pandemic partly disrupted the intervention, but also accelerated the use of blended learning as a means of mitigating the harmful effects of the consequent lockdown. The study revealed that most respondents felt that the intervention had helped them to feel more confident, respected and included. However, blended learning could not prevent the stressful experiences due to forced sheltering at home. The results support the importance of finding innovative ways to transform curricula and teaching methods in science and technology studies. Pedagogy based on the principles of epistemic justice, essential to ensure that students from different backgrounds have equal opportunities for personal growth, is challenging under remote learning conditions.

This study draws on the preProgress in International Reading Literacy Study (prePIRLS) 2011 data. It aims to illustrate the effect of early home literacy activities and the early introduction of reading skills and strategies in the school setting on reading literacy achievement amongst South African Grade 4 learners across the 11 official languages. South African learner performance is consistently poor across a variety of international assessment programmes. The prePIRLS 2011 study results place South African Grade 4 learners' results substantially below the international centre point of 500 at 461 (SE = 3.7). As part of the reading achievement assessment, prePIRLS 2011 gathered background information in the form of learner, parent, teacher and school questionnaires. This study investigates two aspects as reported by parents and school principals of Grade 4 learners: firstly, parents of Grade 4 learners reported in the Learning to Read survey (or Parent Questionnaire) on the frequency with which early home literacy activities were conducted in the home before the learner commenced schooling. Secondly, principals of learners reported on the grade level (from Grade 1 to Grade 4 and beyond) at which a number of critical reading skills and strategies were introduced to learners. Fourteen such skills are identified, ranging from basic skills to skills with increased complexity. This study links the frequency of early home literacy activities, as reported by Grade 4 learners' parents, and the introduction of the 14 reading skills, as reported by school principals, to learner achievement scores in the prePIRLS 2011 assessment.

This study describes how criterion-referenced feedback was produced from English language, mathematics and natural sciences monitoring assessments. The assessments were designed for grades 8 to 11 to give an overall indication of curriculum-standards attained in a given subject over the course of a year (N = 1113). The Rasch Item Map method was used to set cut-scores for the Rasch competency bands, after which subject specialists examined the items in each band. Based on the content and difficulty of the items, descriptions for the proficiency levels were generated. Learner reports described each individual's current proficiency level in a subject area as well as the subsequent level to be attained. This article shows how the Rasch Item Map method can be used to align assessments and curriculum-standards, which facilitates reporting learner performance in terms of criterion-referenced feedback and empowers learners, teachers and parents to focus on subject content and competencies.

South Africa participated in the electronic version of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (ePIRLS) in 2016 but faced many challenges during implementation. Accurate databases on information and communication technologies (ICT) capacity of schools were not available for sampling in Gauteng, many schools had old and/or non-functional hardware and half of the schools had not used their computer laboratories in the last 3 years. Consequently, South Africa was excluded from the international report as the study requirements could not be met. In this paper we examine the implications of the problems experienced in the ePIRLS multiple case study, conducted in 9 schools (n = 277) in Gauteng. Multilevel models were built using data from the nationally representative Grade 4 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) data from 2011 (n = 15,744) and 2016 (n = 12,810). In the 2016 national study, principals and teachers reported fewer computers and libraries being available for learners than were reported in 2011. Computers and paper-based libraries being available were not significant predictors of reading literacy. Instead, the medium of instruction in the Foundation Phase, school location, gender, and socioeconomic composition of the school predicted reading literacy achievement. The ePIRLS results show no significant difference between paper-based and online reading. While issues of poverty, gender inequality, and historical disadvantage persist, Grade 4 learners may lack adequate opportunities to acquire paper and digital reading skills. We conclude that the most disadvantaged learners have increasingly insufficient opportunities and resources available to attain basic reading skills and this will have negative long-term consequences for South Africa's educational sector and economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The monitoring of learning over time is critical for determining progression within and across cohorts of learners. This research investigated the use of the Rasch Measurement Model to determine the functioning of anchor items as well as an application of the model to convert the results to the same metric. A group of 321 Grade 8 learners and the same in the following school year wrote English Additional Language Comprehension Tests aimed at monitoring learning progression over years. The two tests were linked with 15 anchor items. This study examined the results of the anchor items from Years 1 and 2, applying non-parametric statistical tests as well as the Rasch Partial Credit Model to identify items which did not contribute to monitoring learning progression; these items were removed or refined based on the results and reviews by subject specialists. Learner results from Grades 8 and 9 were placed in the same frame of reference by applying the Rasch Partial Credit Model in order to establish a more accurate representation of the magnitude of learning progression. The first finding illustrated that applying non-parametric statistics and Rasch Measurement Theory identifies potentially problematic anchor items, and that when items are improved or removed, the overall results tend to be more stable and precise. Second, it was found that when applying Rasch item and threshold calibrations to assessment results, a more accurate indication of learning progression is obtained which can be used to communicate results to stakeholders and more importantly, inform teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes how criterion-referenced feedback was produced from English language, mathematics and natural sciences monitoring assessments. The assessments were designed for grades 8 to 11 to give an overall indication of curriculum- standards attained in a given subject over the course of a year (N=1113). The Rasch Item Map method was used to set cut-scores for the Rasch competency bands, after which subject specialists examined the items in each band. Based on the content and difficulty of the items, descriptions for the proficiency levels were generated. Learner reports described each individual's current proficiency level in a subject area as well as the subsequent level to be attained. This article shows how the Rasch Item Map method can be used to align assessments and curriculum-standards, which facilitates reporting learner performance in terms of criterion-referenced feedback and empowers learners, teachers and parents to focus on subject content and competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]