Direct Instruction and Reading in Africa: A Comparison of DIBELS Scores of a DI School in Liberia, a Comparison Liberian School, and US Schools
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Date
2010
Authors
Stockard, Jean
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI)
Abstract
Educating young children is one of the most pressing problems facing less developed countries
around the world. A well educated populace is crucial in helping nations escape from grinding
poverty. But developing a well functioning education system in the face of very limited financial
and human resources can be extremely difficult. This report describes how Direct Instruction can
help meet these educational challenges. Our data come from Liberia, a country in West Africa,
and replicate results that were obtained in an earlier study in an impoverished and highly
segregated area of South Africa.
The first section of this report briefly summarizes research on Direct Instruction and its
use in the African context two decades ago. It then describes the use of DI in a Liberian school
and reports data on reading skills, comparing the achievement of the Liberian DI students to that
of Liberian students in a comparison school and to students in the rural Midwestern United
States. A final section briefly discusses implications of these results.
Description
12 pages
Keywords
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), Technical Report, Education in Developing Countries