Reading comprehension ability among primary school going children in rural Punjab using SOLE

Abstract

The present paper is an attempt to examine English reading comprehension ability of primary school going children in a rural village in Punjab. The purpose of the study was to study the effect of SOLE on the English reading comprehension ability of primary school going children. In the study, an experimental group and a control group was undertaken. The two groups ie experimental and control were similar in nearly all parameters except the intervention. Children in the experimental group were exposed to SOLE lab (Self Organized Learning Environments) which acted as an intervention. Whereas, the control group, had no such intervention. The study was conducted for a period of three months. The results showed that children exposed to SOLE lab: i) had significantly improved in their English reading comprehension ability; ii) School enrollment increased from 73 to nearly 116; iii) There was a drop-in absenteeism, as reported by the school principal. A summary of the findings makes the study worth mentioning as it was a joint collaboration between a Private company and a Government body. The success of which led to scaling up SOLE labs in 56 primary government schools. However, one limitation of this study is its constraint duration. It was very short however, interestingly, the results of the study has a positive impact and is very encouraging.

Keywords: SOLE, English reading comprehension, government school, intervention, minimally invasive education, pedagogy, learning, e-mediators, primary children.