{"id":1340,"date":"2026-08-30T22:54:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/childrensvoicesconference.csu.domains\/2026\/?p=1340"},"modified":"2026-08-30T22:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:54:15","slug":"cvc2026-632","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/childrensvoicesconference.csu.domains\/2026\/cvc2026-632\/","title":{"rendered":"CVC2026-632 \u2013 Post-COVID reading delays: Insights from South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"cvc-hero alignfull\">\n  <span class=\"cvc-chip\">Presentation \u2013 CVC2026-632<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\">Post-COVID reading delays: Insights from South Africa<\/h1>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<div class=\"cvc-authors\">\n<p><strong>Sandra Stark, <\/strong>University of Pretoria, South Africa<\/p>\n<p><strong>Salome Geertsema, <\/strong>University of Pretoria, South Africa<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mia le Roux,<\/strong> University of Pretoria, South Africa<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe title=\"CVC2026-632 Post-COVID reading delays: Insights from South Africa\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/itO6QhHyziA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p><strong>Background:<\/strong><strong> <\/strong>Post-pandemic increases in reading difficulties are often linked to dyslexia, but emerging evidence suggests that many cases may instead reflect delays in foundational learning due to systemic and contextual disruptions. Without clear conceptual and diagnostic frameworks, South African learners risk being misclassified as dyslexic when their difficulties may stem from disrupted early education.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aim:<\/strong><strong> <\/strong>This study aimed to determine whether the reading challenges of learners with high needs reflected neurodevelopmental disorders, such as dyslexia, or rather context-specific foundational delays.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Method\/approach: <\/strong>A descriptive, comparative quantitative design was used to examine reading proficiency among learners at risk of academic underachievement. Standardised diagnostic reading and spelling measures were administered to all participants, with supplementary qualitative data gathered through interviews and questionnaires. Learners aged 8\u201313 were purposively sampled from a high needs public school.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Results\/findings: <\/strong>The findings indicated that most learners\u2019 reading difficulties were more consistent with delays in their basic reading foundation. Key contributing factors included mismatches between home languages and LOLT, diminished Grade R attendance, and grade repetition. Patterns of repetition before and after the COVID-19 lockdowns were also considered in relation to academic progression.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion: <\/strong>This study highlights the need to understand reading difficulties within South Africa\u2019s post-COVID educational context. High rates of home-language and language-of-learning mismatch, together with limited Grade R attendance, point to the combined effects of inequality, disrupted early learning, and linguistic barriers on literacy development.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Implications for children and families: <\/strong>Ask about factors that may affect your child\u2019s reading, and the best way forward can be explained. Make sure your child undergoes early language screening and that all languages are included in assessments. Intensive literacy support is key!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Implications for practitioners:<\/strong> Integrate modules on referral pathways into preservice and in-service teacher education. Equip yourselves with strategies across diverse linguistic profiles, including code-switching, visual aids, peer-assisted learning, and culturally responsive multidisciplinary teaching methods.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Keywords<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> COVID-19 pandemic, developmental dyslexia, reading disorders, reading delays, South Africa<\/p>\n<p><strong>This presentation relates to the following <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\"><strong>United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<ul class=\"cvc-sdgs\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal4\">SDG 4: Quality Education<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal10\">SDG\u00a010: Reduced Inequality<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sandra Stark, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Salome Geertsema, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Mia le Roux, University of Pretoria, South Africa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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