Temperance obtains her Doctorate

TEMPERANCE Phumzile (Zondo) Nkosi has recently graduated as Doctor of Education at the University of South Africa (UNISA).

She started her career as a teacher in 1989 after completing her Primary Teachers’ Diploma at Madadeni College of Education. While working as a teacher at Nhliziyonhle Primary School, her colleagues motivated her to further her education. As a group, they enrolled at UNISA and she was able to obtain Bachelor of Education (BA) and Bachelor of Education (BED) with specialisation in Special Needs Education in 2000.

Her Masters Degree (MED) in Educational Planning and Administration was completed at UNIZULU (Ungoye) in 2011, and pursuant conferment of Doctor of Education in Inclusive Education at UNISA in 2017.

She is currently the principal of Goqo Primary School in the Mondlo area where her research was conducted.

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In her thesis, ‘Challenges faced by intermediate phase learners in reading in English’, Dr Nkosi investigated the challenges of learners in reading in English, using phenomenology as research design. Her study explored factors that affect learners’ reading. Her inquiry attempted to ascertain what the realities are concerning reading of English and possible solutions that can be provided to redress reading challenges. Dr Nkosi shed light on the role of the curriculum and the method of teaching reading in English.

The findings revealed various factors that cause reading problems such as physical factors in learners, low socio-economic factors, little attention in reading skills and poor teachers’ and learners’ communicative competence in English as the language of learning and teaching.

The study makes recommendations on what will help to improve reading competence of learners in the intermediate phase.