Abstract

The main purpose of the study is to gain an understanding of the factors responsible for the poor reading achievement of pupils in public primary school in Yola South and North Local Government area of Adamawa state from teachers’ perspectives using a qualitative phenomenological approach. A total of 20 teachers were selected from ten randomly selected schools within Yola North and South Local Government Area. Two teachers represented each school. A set of semi-structured interview questions were used to gather data from the participant. Six major themes emerged from the analyzed data. The main themes that emerged from the data analysis are lack of commitment of teachers to their responsibilities, teachers lacking the skills to teach phonics and foundational skills in reading, lack of instructional and learning materials. Other emerging issues are related to inadequately qualified teachers, the influences of the socioeconomic status of parents on their negative attitude towards the education of their children as well as the interference/adverse effects of mother tongue on language learning. The findings from this study will help the government and educators push for policies that would help improve the academic performances of students in the state

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