CDL Seminar: Effects of Home Language and Language of Instruction in sub-Saharan Africa
Target 4.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) states that by 2030 “all girls and boys [will] complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education”. Quality education suggests children will be able to read. However, UNESCO reported that in 2019 86% of children in sub-
Saharan Africa (SSA) suffered from the inability to read well. Unicef’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) also found that children in SSA had poor foundational reading (FR) skills.
This research uses the FR module of the MICS to assess reading skills of children in SSA using both ability – reading 90% of a text; and comprehension – answering both literal and inferential questions related to the text. For several SSA countries, we will present some simple as well as multivariate analyses to explore home language, school language of instruction, consent to read, and reading skills, controlling for children’s background characteristics.

Join in-person or on MS Teams: teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3aH7IoYwBLlY_nR8d0DFzqC4yXRigyhbzyOceuytRk4g01%40thread.tacv2/1733257638737?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22be558437-bc8f-4f3b-801c-af85d95b70ea%22%7d
Date: 11 March 2025, 12:30
Venue: 15 Norham Gardens, 15 Norham Gardens OX2 6PY
Venue Details: Seminar Room A and MS Teams
Speakers: Dr Fatma Abdelkhalek ((Faculty of Commerce, Assiut University; Social Research Center, American University in Cairo, Egypt), Dr Ray Langsten (Social Research Center, American University in Cairo, Egypt)
Organising department: Department of Education
Organiser: Professor Sonali Nag (University of Oxford)
Part of: Child Development and Learning Research Group Seminars
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editors: Hannah Freeman, Heather Sherkunov, Kristina Khoo