Instructing Guided Reading in South Africa

International tests show that large numbers of South African learners cannot understand what they are reading. The government implemented Guided Reading in the primary schools to address this problem. Alide Kruizinga evaluates how teachers understand and implement Guided Reading in three South African primary schools. She suggests teachers struggle to implement Guided Reading, because they do not have access to appropriate books and policy guidelines are unclear. Kruizinga argues that without addressing these basic requirements, it is unlikely that Guided Reading will be implemented with any success in South African classrooms.