THE CONTRIBUTION OF LITERACY BOOST MODEL IN IMPROVING LITERACY SKILLS OF STUDENTS IN HIDHABU ABOTE DISTRICT

Abstract

No matter how primary school coverage has been increasing from time to time, students’ literacy skill is not as such developed. Number of primary school children those finish their primary education with not enough and age appropriate knowledge of literacy skill in increasing from time to time. The problem is very serious in developing countries and focus of practitioners was towards those countries. If literacy is so serious, it needs serious intervention to solve problems related with literacy skills of primary school children. Literacy Boost Model is a model first initiated by Save the Children to contribute towards improving literacy skills of children both in school and out school. (CEI, 2015).World vision also adopted and has been implementing it since then. As the EGRA assessment report undertaken in Ethiopia in 2010 shows the problem is very serious in Oromya region compared to the six regions under the assessment. (Benjamin Piper 2010). Hidhabu Abote district which is found in Northern Ethiopia, Oromiya region, North Showa Zone was one of the targets for LB implementation. In this research the contribution made by the implementation of literacy boost model is studied by using different research methodologies. Both in school and out school literacy enhancing environments are studied. EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) tool was administered on 200 sample grade three students selected from literacy boost intervention and control schools. The study has shown that literacy boost model has brought considerable result in early grade students. More over it was shown that it is a practical response engaging all community groups for the betterment of literacy skills of children in the community. For instance children in intervention schools have 41 % better than those in control (non- intervention) schools’ children in case of reading comprehension. It was concluded that making the model more practical and creating sense of ownership in the community could be one of the remarkable solutions to the problem of literacy in early grade students/ children.