On the suitability of Swahili for early schooling in remote rural Tanzania: do policy and practice align?

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dc.contributor.authorMapunda, Gastor
dc.contributor.authorGibson, Hannah
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-07T07:00:21Z
dc.date.available2023-02-07T07:00:21Z
dc.date.issued2022-06-21
dc.description.abstractThis article explores the use of Swahili for education in Tanzania, focusing on rural areas where Swahili is not the main language of the community. Current language policy mandates Swahili as the exclusive Medium of Instruction at primary level throughout the country. However, findings reported here show that in parts of rural Tanzania, children learn Swahili only after a substantial period of being at school, meaning that Swahili does not support early childhood education nor equality of outcomes. Children experience difficulties with progression in learning and teacher-dominated classes can be observed. The study also finds unequal performance in national examinations based on the language of the community, and a prevalence of grade repetition in some settings. It calls for a policy which appreciates the role of community languages and an approach which sees multilingualism as a resource to be harnessed both inside and outside the classroom.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipDepartment of International Development, UKen_US
dc.identifier.citationMapunda, G. and Gibson, H. (2022). On the suitability of Swahili for early schooling in remote rural Tanzania: Do policy and practice align? Journal of the British Academy, 10(s4), 141–168en_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.5871/jba/010s4.141
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/5969
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherOxford University Pressen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries10;s4
dc.subjecteducation, multilingualism, Tanzania, translanguaging, policy, equalityen_US
dc.titleOn the suitability of Swahili for early schooling in remote rural Tanzania: do policy and practice align?en_US
dc.title.alternative-en_US
dc.typeJournal Article, Peer Revieweden_US
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