Early grade reading evidence advances to senior management discussions in South Africa

A National Policy Conference convened by PEP-supported researcher Zamangwe Zwane at South Africa’s Department of Basic Education generated strong engagement from senior officials, who recognised the value of the preliminary findings and recommended presenting them to the Department’s senior management. 

The conference brought the evidence directly to officials responsible for strategic planning, research, evaluation and reading programmes. Participants included, Ms Stella Mosimege, Chief Director of Strategic Planning, Research, Evaluation and Monitoring; Dr Stephen Taylor, Director of Research Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation; and Dr Nompumelelo Nyathi-Mohohlwane, Director of Reading, who chaired the conference. 

Officials identify opportunities to advance the evidence 

Ms Stella Mosimege expressed strong interest in the findings and recommended that Zwane present the research at the Department’s senior management meetings. This would broaden its reach among decision-makers and create an opportunity for the evidence to inform strategic discussions. 

She also noted that translating research into policy takes time and requires continued engagement with decision-makers. 

Dr Taylor emphasised the importance of the preliminary long-term results. He noted that the forthcoming Grade 11 findings would provide more substantial evidence on the long-term effectiveness of the Early Grade Reading Study. 

Dr Nyathi-Mohohlwane highlighted the value of administrative education data for policy-relevant analysis. She encouraged Zwane to document the challenges and lessons from using administrative data, which could help strengthen future education evaluations. 

Their responses demonstrated the value of presenting emerging research directly to officials who oversee the Department’s evidence, planning and programme functions. 

What the research found 

The Early Grade Reading Study began in 2015 as a randomised controlled trial involving 4,538 learners across 230 schools in South Africa’s North West Province. It tested different approaches to improving literacy in Setswana as a home language and English as a second language. 

Zwane’s research examined whether the benefits of the programme’s teacher-coaching intervention continued after learners entered secondary school. Under the intervention, teachers received structured lesson plans, learning materials, classroom-based coaching and ongoing support. 

The preliminary analysis found that learners whose teachers received coaching: 

The findings indicate that effective teacher coaching during the early grades may produce benefits that continue into secondary school. However, further evaluation is needed before conclusions can be drawn about expanding the intervention nationally. 

Engagement continues as new evidence emerges 

A longitudinal follow-up is tracking members of the original cohort to Grade 11 using direct learning assessments. These results are expected to provide stronger evidence on whether the benefits of early grade teacher coaching persist over time. 

The recommendation to present the research to the Department’s senior management represents an important opportunity to move the evidence further up the decision-making chain. Continued engagement, alongside the forthcoming Grade 11 results, could support future discussions on foundational literacy and teacher support in South Africa. 

The research was conducted through the Africa Fellows in Education Program, a joint initiative of the Partnership for Economic Policy and the Global Education Analytics Institute, funded by the Yidan Prize.