Mwinyi, Mohamed Juma2025-02-212025-02-212025-02-20vt_gsexam:42557https://hdl.handle.net/10919/124673This study aims to enhance the quality of literacy instruction in rural primary schools in Tanzania by promoting early childhood reading through simplified instruction and evidence-based teaching strategies. Many primary school students struggle with reading and writing, leading to a higher likelihood of school dropout and perpetuating the cycle of poverty. To address this issue, a mixed methodology is employed, incorporating both deductive and inductive approaches in data collection and analysis, while linking the respective strands. The research utilizes an Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) to measure reading levels and evidence-based teaching strategies to gain insights into teachers' experiences. The findings indicated an increase in the average mean score for both groups, with significant improvement in mean reading scores across all subtasks for the treatment group. The qualitative method explained the reasoning behind the improved scores for the treatment group. Teachers pointed to specific teaching strategies they found effective, such as structured learning (I Do, We Do, You Do), student-centered teaching approaches emphasizing engagement and personalized learning, play-based learning as a core strategy, and social learning through peer cooperation. The mixed-method analysis leveraged the combined strengths of quantitative and qualitative approaches to offer an in-depth understanding of the impact of simplified, evidence-based teaching strategies on improving early-grade reading. By integrating both strands, this study successfully highlighted the relationship between qualitative and quantitative data, demonstrated the independent influence of each, and illustrated how their combined insights contribute to a richer understanding of early-grade reading. Education and Policy Implications—Ultimately, the findings from this study not only contribute to academic discourse on early childhood reading but also offer practical insights that can inform educational policy and teaching practices, contributing to the foundation for lifelong learning and literacy.ETDenIn CopyrightEarly Childhood ReadingEvidenced-Based PedagogySimplified InstructionStudent Centered LearningTeachers ExperienceLiteracy Development and interactive Learning StrategiesDissertation