Examining the effects of a low-cost literacy intervention and psychosocial moderators on reading proficiency and academic performance among Zambian children

Evidence suggests that fewer students in sub-Saharan Africa attain minimum math and reading proficiency. This study explores the effectiveness of an after-school teacher-assisted reading intervention on improving children’s reading proficiency (comprehension and reading fluency) and math and English scores in low-resource settings. We also examine whether hope, self-efficacy and gender moderate intervention effects. Participants were 78 fifth graders (55 % female) from poor neighborhoods in Lusaka, Zambia. Four schools were randomly assigned to a 12-session reading intervention (n = 43) or waitlist control group (n = 35). Assessments were conducted at pre-, post and 3-month follow-up. Data were analyzed using longitudinal multilevel modeling controlling for child and parent sociodemographics. We found no statistically significant improvement in the outcomes for the treatment group compared to the control group between pre- and post-treatment. However, the treatment group showed improvements in reading comprehension, fluency, and math and English scores between post and 3-month follow-up. The control group showed improvements in all scores between the second pre-test and post-intervention. Social self-efficacy and hope acted as moderators for pre- to post intervention changes in math and English scores, but not for reading proficiency. Results suggest that low-cost reading assistance interventions may facilitate statistically significant improvements by 3-months post-intervention, contributing to multi-disciplinary efforts to enhance educational outcomes for disadvantaged children in Zambia. Further research is needed to understand why hope and self-efficacy shaped academic gains but not reading improvements.