Abstract
Abstract The main aim of this study was to explore how regular teachers are teaching reading comprehension in inclusive classrooms in Malawi. The focus was on standard four teachers whose learners are on transit to an all English class (standard five). The recent years have seen the deteriorating in comprehension competencies in the English language amongst most learners in regular schools. With the introduction of inclusive education, regular classrooms now have learners with various needs which need to be met by regular teachers through various instructional strategies. Therefore, relevant theories and literature were reviewed to relate on what reading comprehension entails and the effective reading strategies. Through this review, various concepts in relation to reading comprehension were clarified followed by a discussion on recent reading comprehension instructional strategies. A qualitative case study design was adopted for the study. Data was collected through semi-structured classroom observations and participants interviews. The participants were purposefully selected in order to get a deeper understanding of the case. Five standard four teachers from five inclusive schools were selected. Analysis procedures followed the Robson s five phases of thematic coding (Robson, 2011). Four themes were derived from the data collected guided by the research questions. Interpretations revolved around these four themes: teachers understanding of the concept reading comprehension, teaching strategies for teaching reading comprehension, challenges in teaching and learning of reading comprehension and possible ways to overcome challenges in teaching reading comprehension. The findings revealed that the teaching of reading comprehension has been rooted in the old traditions of sounding out words using flash cards and answering more comprehension questions. Different reasons have been discovered to be promoting this trend such as; lack of teacher education and development, large classes, inadequate resources, and lack of commitment. It is clear from the findings that there is need for all the stake holders to collaborate to ensure effective teaching of reading comprehension. The findings clearly imply that there is need for teachers to have an ongoing professional development. Furthermore, teachers need to be equipped with knowledge and skills on how to handle inclusive classrooms to carter for the needs of all learners.