Reading among secondary school pupils in a developing nation

Abstract

A study of the nature of advanced literacy among senior secondary school pupils in a developing country, Botswana, was made to test five hypotheses:

1) that there is a substantial relationship between reading ability in English (the second language) and reading ability in Setswana (the mother-tongue);

2) that there is a substantial relationship between reading ability in English and reading habits, and

3) between Sotswana reading ability and reading habits;

4) that there is a substantial relationship between English reading ability and success in school, and

5) between Setswana reading ability and success in school.

Close tests in English and Setswana were administered to 441 Form Five subjects in nine secondary schools in Botswana. A sample of 97 of the subjects was selected by performance on the English close test and interviewed about their reading habits. The Cambridge School Certificate results for 435 of the subjects were obtained after they had sat the examination five months after the interviews. The results were treated by correlational and contingency analysis. The findings were that there was a significant relationship between reading ability in English and in Setswana, though not a very large one; that there was a significant relationship between reading ability in each of the two languages and the Cambridge Examination, though the relationship of the Setswana ability was smaller; and that there was a relationship between English ability and reading habits, but almost none between the habits and Setswana reading ability. It is suggested that there is an optimum level of proficiency in English required for success in school, and that increased proficiency produces diminishing returns. Suggestions are made for future research.