Technology, Knowledge and Learning (2021) 26:429–441

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-021-09502-9

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Questions

in Kenyan English Textbooks

Andrea Beerwinkle1 · Debra McKeown2

Accepted: 29 January 2021 / Published online: 24 February 2021

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. part of Springer Nature 2021

Abstract
Reading comprehension is a valued skill worldwide. In Kenya, reading
comprehension is taught through English textbooks. In this study, we analyzed the
reading comprehension exercises in the English textbooks for Standard 4 and
Standard 5. Results indicate a strong emphasis on questions that can be
answered directly from the text and questions that con
nect to a reader’s background. A brief discussion of content is provided as well as
limita tions and future directions.

Keywords Reading comprehension · Kenya · Textbook

1 An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Questions in Kenyan

English Textbooks

Reading comprehension is a critical skill and goes beyond a tool used to progress
through school. For example, taking medicine correctly, being a rational and
conscious consumer of goods and services, evaluating political candidates,
evaluating news ofered on the Inter net, and staying abreast of current news all
require the ability to comprehend what is read. Additionally, most jobs require
reading comprehension at some level. The skills and abili ties required for reading
comprehension vary across the life span and shift based on envi ronment.
However, the reading comprehension skills that students develop in the reading
to-learn stage (Chall 1983) become the foundation for deeper reading analysis
required for cognitive development (Smith 1993).
Development of reading comprehension is the result of multiple elements
coming together. Students’ cognitive and psychological attributes such as
vocabulary knowledge and motivation can dramatically infuence reading
achievement. Ecological elements such as instructional materials can also impact
student reading development (Aaron et al. 2008). It is therefore of interest what
materials students are provided for reading comprehension instruction and what
skills and content are presented within those materials.

🖂 Debra McKeown
debramckeown@tamu.edu
1
Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, USA
2
Texas A&M University, College Station, USA

13
Vol.:(0123456789)
430 A. Beerwinkle, D. McKeown

2 Education Structure

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is responsible for national

policies and programs that help Kenyans access quality and afordable school
education, post school, higher education and academic research. In addition, the
ministry is responsi ble for overseeing, guiding, and evaluating the efectiveness of
the education system in Kenya. Both English and Kiswahili are ofcial languages of
the country and English is
the ofcial language of instruction. In Kenya, all primary education is compulsory.
Four years following its independence from Great Britain, Kenya joined the East
African Community in which each country adopted the 7-4-2-3 system, similar to
the British education system. There were seven years of primary, four years of
secondary, two years of high school and three to four years of university. In 1985,
President Moi’s government introduced the 8-4-4 system, similar to the American
education system. The system was instituted and it meant that pupils completed
eight years of compulsory pri mary education, four years of secondary education,
and four years of university. Under President Kibaki in 2003, the eight years of
primary school became not only compul sory, but also free of charge in public
schools.
Kenya utilizes a standardized national curriculum and the curriculum is
developed, established, and published through the Kenya Institute of Education,
and since 2013, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). KICD has
sought to establish research-informed curriculum and support materials for that
curriculum for all public schools below university level.
Standards 4 (~ age 9), 5 (~ age 10), and 6 (~ age 11) form the upper primary,
which is focused on exposing pupils to a wide range of topics to allow for
exploration and experi mentation. Pupils in upper primary are required to take the
following courses: English, Kiswahili or Kenya Sign Language, Home Science,
Agriculture, Science and Technol ogy, Mathematics, Religious Education
(Christian, Islam, and Hindu), Creative Arts, Physical and Health Education, and
Social Studies. It is through the English courses that reading, oral language, and
written language is taught.

3 English Reading in Kenya

Kenya is a multilingual country with 68 languages being spoken in the country.

English and Kiswahili are the ofcial languages of Kenya. Formal education is
conducted in English, a product of former colonial rule. Students residing in cities
will have frequent experiences with English and Kiswahili while those living in the
countryside will have little exposure to English except through school and for
most, English is a third language after Kiswahilli and the mother tongue
associated with their ethnic group (Glewwe et al. 2009). Students are expected to
be profcient in reading and writing English. Accord
ing to KICD (2019), by the end of the Upper Level Primary Level, in English,
learners should be able to: (a) listen fuently for the main idea and specifc
information from a variety of print and digital texts, (b) speak fuently, accurately
and with expression on a variety of subjects and genres, (c) read a variety of texts
fuently, accurately, and interpretatively for lifelong learning, (d) use grammatical
forms to communicate ideas, opinions, and emotions appropriately in diferent
settings, (e) write texts for various

13
An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Questions in Kenyan English… 431

purposes legibly, accurately, creatively, and cohesively for self-expression, and (f)
apply digital literacy skills to enhance their language competency.

4 Textbooks in Kenya

Expanded access to primary education has been the focus of international

initiatives, such as UNICEF’s Basic Education and Gender Equality efort.
However, increased access does not equate quality of education. Additionally,
according to the 2016 CIA World factbook, an estimated 36% of Kenyan families
are below the poverty line and while primary educa
tion is free in Kenya, families still must pay for items such as uniforms and
textbooks. One study found that most (but not all) teachers had an English
textbook, but only about one in twenty pupils had one (Glewwe et al. 2009). The
fact is, many families cannot aford to purchase the textbooks for any subject, not
just English. Many professionals believe that access to textbooks would improve
quality of education and test scores (cf., Fuller and Clarke 1994), but one study
found that access to textbooks helped only the strongest pupils (Glewwe et al.
2009). These researchers believe this outcome is explained by many factors, one
of which is that the texts may be too difcult for many pupils in both lower and upper
primary school to adequately comprehend, English being their third language, and
thus not useful for their learning experiences. We wanted to understand how
reading, specifcally reading comprehension, was taught through these textbooks.

5 Component Model of Reading

Multiple models of reading focus on students’ mental abilities and tasks such as
language comprehension, decoding skills, and use of strategies (Gough and
Tunmer 1986; Hoover and Gough 1990; McKenna and Stahl 2009). However,
reading skills, specifcally reading comprehension and inference, are not
developed in a vacuum. Models such as the Sim
ple View of Reading and Modifed Cognitive Model ignore outside contributors that
help develop students’ abilities and mental tasks that contribute to their abilities to
understand, interpret, and analyze what is read (Beerwinkle et al. 2018, 2020).
Further, reading skills are not used in a vacuum. Students are expected to read a
variety of text types throughout their lifetime and the mental tasks required for
comprehending expository tasks difer from those required for narrative texts
(Hebert et al. 2016).
The Component Model of Reading (CMR) (Aaron et al. 2008) broadens the factors
that infuence acquisition of reading skills through the inclusion of psychological
(i.e., moti vation, intertest, gender diferences) and ecological components (i.e.,
textbook contents, instructional practices, English as a second language) with the
cognitive component (i.e., word recognition, cognition). The CMR gives each
component equal weight and supports the idea that “a child can fail to acquire
satisfactory levels of literacy skills because of def cits in any component in any of
these three domains” (Aaron, et al. 2008, p. 69). Further, research has empirically
documented the importance of the psychological and ecological components
(Berninger et al. 2004; Binks-Cantrell et al. 2012; Chiu et al. 2012; Connor et al.
2005; Dudley-Marling 2004; Piasta et al. 2009). More specifcally, Beerwinkle et al.
(2018, 2020) and Cordeiro et  al (2020) have specifcally explored implications of
text book contents on reading comprehension. Beerwinkle et al. (2018) highlight
the impact of textbook contents on teaching practices and student comprehension
strategy use. Further,

13
432 A. Beerwinkle, D. McKeown

Beerwinkle et al. (2020) analyzed the contents of grade 3, 4, and 5 widely used
Ameri can reading textbooks to better understand potential causes of low reading
scores and as a result found a discrepancy between reading instruction research
and practice.

6 Current Study

A core belief of this study is that textbooks are an integral component in teaching
and learning reading skills, specifcally reading comprehension. Textbooks
reinforce skills and strategies through multiple opportunities for practice.
Textbooks also provide an anchor for teachers by ofering grade level appropriate
texts and comprehension instruction.
Kenya does not participate in international literacy assessments such as
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) or Progress in International
Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS; National Center for Educational Statistics 2020).
Therefore, a comparison of Kenyan literacy achievement to other countries is
limited. Additionally, current research on Kenyan student reading achievement
does not focus on the textbooks used (Muche
rah and Herendeen 2013; Piper et al. 2015; Zuilkowski and Piper 2014). Using
Beerwin kle et al. (2018, 2020) as models, the current study seeks to understand
Kenyan literacy instruction practice through an understanding of a key
instructional tool within the ecologi cal component- the textbook.
As mentioned previously, textbooks contribute to attainment of reading
comprehension skills. The current study seeks to better understand how
textbooks may be contributing to the reading comprehension development of
Standards 4 and 5 students in Kenya. Using Beerwinkle et al. (2018, 2020) as an
analysis framework, this study focuses on the types and frequencies of reading
comprehension questions within Standards 4 and 5 reading text
books and the content structure of each reading passage.
7 Method

7.1 Texts Analyzed

The New Primary English pupils’ books for Standards 4 and 5

(https://www.jkf.co.ke/
index.php/products-services/product-catalogue/product/view/9/77) were used as
the source of data for this study. These English texts are provided through The
Jomo Kenyatta Foun dation and both are the updated forms which align with the
new curriculum. The Standard 4 book is titled New Adventures and has 27
passages with exercises that follow. The Stand ard 5 book is titled Neighbors and
has 29 passages with exercises that follow. The exercises for each passage are
divided into six diferent sections: (a) Before you read (open ended questions), (b)
read (the passage), (c) Do you remember (questions about the passage), (d)
Vocabulary, (e) Language use (grammar), (f) Write better (writing exercises), and
some times a passage also includes (g) Extended work (e.g., dramatization).

7.2 Codes

Where the textbooks in the Beerwinkle et al. (2018, 2020) analyses explicitly
stated read ing comprehension skills and strategies for each text (e.g., summary,
inference, main idea), neither New Adventures or Neighbors provided reading
comprehension skills or strategies

13
An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Questions in Kenyan English… 433

or curriculum standards for passages within the textbooks. Therefore, in this study¸
we analyze the reading comprehension questions contained in section A, Before
you read, and section C, Do you remember, as means of analyzing the reading
comprehension skills and strategies covered within the texts. There were 344
comprehension questions in the Stand
ard 4 text and 359 comprehension questions in the Standard 5 text.
To analyze the types of comprehension questions contained in the textbooks,
the two authors frst talked about the types of comprehension questions. We drew
from Pearson and Johnson’s (1978) taxonomy of questions that focus on the
relationship between the question, text, and reader’s prior knowledge. This same
taxonomy of questions is suggested for use by the National Reading Panel
(2000). Pearson and Johnson identify three ques
tions types: textually explicit, textually implicit, and scriptally implicit. Textually
explicit questions can be answered with information stated explicitly in a single
sentence while textually implicit questions require making inferences based on
information presented in the text. Scriptally implicit questions cannot be answered
from the text and require used of the reader’s prior knowledge. Using Pearson
and Johnson as a base, we decided on six question types: (1) direct- the answer
to the question was clearly stated in the text, (2) infer
ence- readers needed make logical conclusions either using the text or the text
and back ground knowledge to answer the question, (3) prediction- the reader was
specifcally asked what would most likely happen in the future, (4) background- the
answer to the question required the reader to draw from background knowledge,
(5) connection- the answer to the question required the reader to draw on
personal experience., (6) vocabulary- the answer to the question focused on the
meaning of a word. Each comprehension was thus coded as being: (a) direct, (b)
inference, (c) prediction, (d) background, (e) connection, or (f) vocab ulary. Table 1
provides examples of each question type found within the textbooks.

Table 1 Question type examples

Reading passage question types

Direct What did the teacher tell the children to write in the frst line? (Playing together, New
Adventures)
When did the Standard 5E children notice that Muthoni was absent? (Muthoni’s
visitors, Neighbors)
Inference Why was Hare very happy? (The elephant and the hippopotamus, New Adventures)
Why did Mr. Chesoli go through the instructions with the class? (An English test, Neighbors)
Prediction What do you think Ewoi did while he was in the hut? (Adventure in the forest, New
Adven tures)
What do you think happens to the camel’s hump when it has not eaten for a long
time? (The shiop of the desert, Neighbors)
Background How can we keep ourselves healthy? (Please, listen to me, New
Adventures) What do you know about the hyena? (Why the hyena limps,
Neighbors)
Connection Are there other stories like this in your community? (Adventure in the forest, New
Adven tures)
What crops do you grow in your area? (Siludhi cofee factory, Neighbors)
Vocabulary The sentence ’Everyone except the girls went into the supermarket’ means that (a)
the girls went into the supermarket (b) only the girls didn’t go into the
supermarket © everyone didn’t go into the supermarket (d) everyone went into
the supermarket (No Pencils for Amoit and Atyang, New Adventures)
When Nyaboke says, "My mouth felt dry," she means that she was: (a) afraid (b)
excied (c) thirsty (d) happy (The drama festival, Neighbors)

13
434 A. Beerwinkle, D. McKeown

The content of each question was also coded as relating to character values.
Questions coded as values were coded as a question type from above and might
also be coded as relating to values (e.g., life lessons, morality, ethics).

7.3 Procedure

The two authors read each passage and typed each question into a spreadsheet.
To train, we coded each question for two texts and discussed disagreements. The
only disagreement was one question which one scorer coded as being both
background and connection. We then discussed if questions should be assigned
more than one code and decided it allowed more nuance to be captured if we did
so. This means that questions can receive multiple codes. After each question
was coded, we analyzed for reliability and calculated frequency of codes.
The topics, lesson or moral to be learned, and genre of each passage was also
analyzed and coded. Seven topics were identifed: (1) adults in life- adults
completing activities in everyday life, (2) animal tale- anthropomorphized animals
engaging in various activities, (3) children in life- children engaging in various
activities outside of school, (4) children in school- children participating in various
activities within the school environment, (5) family life- adults and children
engaging in family activities, (6) school- activities at school where students were
not the main focus, (7) society- elements of life in Kenya such as agriculture,
industry, and transportation. There were fve lesson or moral categories: (1)
educational- pupils were presented with facts or school lessons through the text,
(2) health pupils were presented with health information through the text, (3)
human rights- pupils were presented with information on human rights, (4) safety-
pupils were presented with general information on how to be safe in various
situations, (5) social expectations- pupils were presented with information on
expected social behaviors or general societal mor
als. There were six genre codes: (1) animal tale, (2) drama, (3) fantasy, (4)
nonfction, (5) poetry, (6) realistic fction.

7.4 Reliability

Following training, each scorer coded 65% of the passages (one did all even, one
all odd, and then a random 15% from each other’s assigned passages). This
allowed the workload to be balanced between the two, while also allowing for
overlap of coding for reliability. The frst and second authors trained together to
establish inter-rater reliability (IRR). IRR was calculated by dividing the number of
disagreements by the number of agreements plus disagreements. IRR during
training was 95%. Both coded 15% (n=9) of all studies and IRR was 95%.

8 Results

8.1 Reading comprehension questions

The analysis of the Primary 4 English text revealed 344 reading comprehension
ques tions and each could be coded with one or more of six question types (see
Fig. 1). There were 351 codes in total. Results indicate there were 200 codes
(58.1%) for questions that could be answered directly from the text. There were
52 codes (15%) for questions

13
An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Questions in Kenyan English… 435
Vocabulary
Fig. 1 Standard 4 reading 2%
compre hension question
Connec on
types
Standard 4 Ques on Types
Background 14%
12%
Direct

Inference 57%
Predic on
15%
0%
that required inference to answer. There were 50 codes (15%) for questions
pertaining to background knowledge or schema. There were 43 codes (13%) for
questions meant to make a connection with a reader. There were 5 codes (1%) for
questions relating to vocabulary. There was 1 code (0.3%) for a question requiring
prediction. Fifteen of the questions were values related.
The analysis of the Primary 5 English text revealed 359 reading comprehension
ques tions and each could be coded with one or more of six question types (see
Fig. 2). Results indicate there were 394 codes in total. Results indicate there were
176 codes (45%) for questions that could be answered directly from the text.
There were 81 codes (21%) per taining to background knowledge or schema.
There were 54 codes (14%) for questions meant to make a connection with a
reader. There were 44 codes (11%) for questions that required inference to
answer. There were 6 codes (2%) for questions relating to vocabulary. There was
1 code (0.2%) for a question requiring prediction. Thirty-two (8%) of the ques tions
were values related.
Standard 5 Ques on Types
Vocabulary
2%

Fig. 2 Standard 5 reading com Connec on

prehension question types 15%

Direct
49%
Background 22%

Inference
12%

Predic on
0%

13
436 A. Beerwinkle, D. McKeown

8.2 Content Analysis

Analysis of the topics of the Primary 4 texts revealed that there were seven text
topics (See Fig. 3). There were 12 texts (43%) that focused on children
participating in activi ties outside of school. There were six texts (21%) that
focused on children participating in activities at school. There were four texts
(14%) that focused on various aspects of life in Kenya. There were three texts
(11%) that were animal tales where anthropomorphized animals were the main
characters. There was one text (4%) each that focused on adult life, family life,
and school where children were not the focus.
The analysis of topics covered in the Primary 5 English texts revealed that 10
texts (36%) focused on children in life, nine texts (32%) focused on children in
school, fve texts (18%) were animal tales, and four texts (14%) were focused on
society. Ten texts (36%) had an educational lesson. Nine texts (32%) had a lesson
focused on social expectations. Three texts (11%) had a lesson connected to
safety and one text (4%) contained a health lesson.

8.3 Genre Analysis

Genre analysis of the Primary 4 English texts showed that 21 texts (75%) were
realistic fction. Three texts (11%) were animal tales, two texts (7%) were poems,
and one text (4%) each were nonfction and fantasy.
The analysis genres present Primary 5 English texts revealed that 20 texts
(71%) were realistic fction. Four texts (14%) were animal tales, two texts (7%)
were nonfction, and one text (4%) each were poetry and drama.

Story Categories
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Adult in life Animal Tale Children in Children at school School
life Family life Society

Grade 4 Grade 5

Fig. 3 Text topics

13
An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Questions in Kenyan English… 437
8.4 Values in Passage Content

The analysis of lessons or values connected to the texts revealed that 16

passages (57%) focused on a lesson connected to social expectation (See
Fig. 4). There were two lessons each (7%) that focused on an educational or
health lesson and one lesson (4%) that focused on human rights. There were six
lessons that did not have a clear lesson or moral.

9 Discussion

This study analyzed reading comprehension questions connected to reading

passages in text books used in Kenyan public schools. Additionally, this study
analyzed the content and gen res of the reading passages within the textbooks.
These analyses were conducted in order to explore how elements of the
ecological component of reading may infuence literacy acquisi tion (Aaron et al.
2008). As mentioned previously, all components of the CMR are critical to
students successfully acquiring literacy skills and a weakness in one component
may have a negative efect on the other two (Aaron et al. 2008). Therefore, it is
important to examine the instructional materials (e.g., textbooks) that students
encounter during their reading instruc tion. Our fndings provide a signifcant inquiry
into Standards 4 and 5 Kenyan reading instruc tion textbooks and their potential
efect on reading comprehension development. Through our analysis, we found a
heavy focus on lower order comprehension questions, societal expecta tions, and
fction. These fndings are discussed in relation to other studies and their implica
tions to reading comprehension development.

Text Lessson/Moral Category

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Educa onal Health Human Rights Social Expecta ons Grade 4 Grade 5

Fig. 4 Values in passage content

 13
438 A. Beerwinkle, D. McKeown

9.1 Reading Comprehension Questions

The primary fnding was that more than half (58%) of the reading comprehension
questions attached to each passage were those that could be answered directly
from the text, indicat ing literal recall as a priority. This is followed by questions
related to background knowledge
(15%) and making a personal connection to information in the passage (13%).
Although Kenya does not participate in the PIRLS reading assessment, the
assessment is conducted in multiple counties and therefore the defnition of
reading literacy used by the PIRLS can be considered a global defnition:
Reading literacy is the ability to understand and use those written language
forms required by society and/or valued by the individual. Readers can
construct meaning from texts in a variety of forms. They read to learn, to
participate in communities of readers in school and everyday life, and for
enjoyment. (PIRLS 2016, p.12).
This defnition refects the interactive process of reading refected in multiple
theories of read ing (Aferbach and Cho 2009; Chall 1983; Kintsch 1998; Snow
2002).
However, the question types within the analyzed textbooks minimally refect this
view of reading or the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development goal that
leaners should be able to “read a variety of texts fuently, accurately, and
interpretively” (KICD 2019, p.2). While questions that ask students to use
background knowledge and make connections with the text require some
interaction, literal recall does not. Direct recall questions are at the lowest level of
Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson and Krathwohl 2001). As a result, direct recall
questions do not refect a student’s true understanding of the material, require
them to construct meaning from a text, or interpret information. Students must
only fnd the same or similar wording in the text to fnd the answer to the question.
Table 2 provides an example of typical recall ques tion and its answer in the
corresponding passage for the textbook series.
Students in Standards 4 and 5 are moving into and establishing themselves in
the reading to learn phase (Chall 1983). Reading to learn requires interpretation
and integration of new ideas and information into one’s schema and the ability to
read a variety of texts interpre tively is a stated KICD learning outcome for
students at this level. Questions at the higher end of Bloom’s taxonomy, such as
inference questions, support the interpretation and integration process and
highlight a student’s comprehension of the text. Further, reading to learn requires
strong metacognition. A critical hurdle in comprehension is students do not
understand what they have read and are unaware of their lack of understanding
(Honig et al. 2018). Inference questions support the development of metacognitive
skills because they require students to pay attention to their thinking. As students
answer inference questions, they must ask them
selves if the inference is logical and if not, refne the inference. Inference questions
require a higher level of thinking and therefore require more practice. Yet only
15% of questions in the Grade 4 and 11% in Grade 5 texts were inference
questions. These percentages are not adequate practice for students to become
profcient in understanding the various written forms of language required to
participate in their communities throughout their lifespan. This lack of

Table 2 Example of recall

question and answer in text Question: What did the teacher tell the children to write in the frst
list?
Text: “In the frst list, write fve words which sound like ‘man’.”
Primary English 4, Unit 1, Playing Together

13
An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Questions in Kenyan English… 439

higher order questions presents a weakness within elements of the ecological

component in supporting strong reading comprehension instruction.

9.2 Content Analysis

Most passages focused on children either in or out of school, from a variety of

locales within the country, and from a variety of social and economic
backgrounds. This suggests an efort by the publishers to create a textbook that
values pupils’ background knowledge and life experiences. Through the texts, a
heavy emphasis was placed on following direc
tions/rules, being kind and helpful, and generally being a respectable member of
society. This focus suggests that indoctrination in socials norms is also a goal of
the textbook in addition to reading comprehension.
Although indoctrination in social norms is a laudable goal, students will need
skills beyond understanding societal mores as they progress through life. As
mentioned above, Standards 4 and 5 are a time where students transition to
reading to learn. This means that students begin to gain more knowledge from
texts they read independently. Research has shown that students’ knowledge of a
topic before reading infuences how that knowl
edge is incorporated into their schema (Anderson and Pearson 1984). Providing
students with opportunities to read widely and deeply also provides them with
opportunities to gain knowledge that can lay the foundation for future schema
(Honig et al. 2018). If students are limited to reading about being a good citizen,
then they are also limited in the schema new information can be assimilated into.
While other content areas (e.g., science, history) can provide students with
schema building information, reading comprehension instruction rarely happens in
content area courses or the textbooks associated with them. Therefore, the
content students are exposed to as part of the ecological component (e.g., reading
text books) not only supports reading comprehension, but acquisition of new
knowledge.

9.3 Genre Structure

The main genre of the texts was overwhelmingly realistic fction. However, very few
pas sages followed traditional story structure (i.e., exposition-rising
action-problem-climax falling action-denouement). Animal tales were typically the
exception to this. Most pas sages were closer to vignettes of life in Kenya and
rarely included a problem that the
characters solve (a hallmark of fction). This heavy focus on realism may also
suggest a desire to create texts that pupils can relate to as well as ofer a way to
provide content area information through a story. The latter can be seen in texts
where the lessons were coded as educational. These texts frequently provided
nonfction information (e.g., how to stop ero
sion) through a realistic, but fctional, story such as a grandfather telling a
grandson about his youth or two children stopping to help with a house fre on the
way home. As students enter the reading to learn phase, information is
increasingly presented in non-fction across various formats (e.g., textbooks, news
articles, websites, etc.). This genre is also the most common genre students will
gain information through not only as they progress in school but as they go
through life. Although the main function of non fction is to present information, the
ways information is presented can vary greatly. Stu dents in the reading to learn
phase also need exposure and experience reading widely and deeply from the
various genres within non-fction. For students to develop and expand their
schema about non-fction features and structures, which is required for
comprehension of non-fction texts, students must be immersed in those features
and structures. If the core

13
440 A. Beerwinkle, D. McKeown

instructional materials (i.e., textbooks) overwhelmingly focus on fction, students

will not be prepared for reading content area texts in upper grades, secondary
school, post-school career training, or elsewhere. Again, it is important to note
that the ecological compo nents (e.g., textbooks) of literacy instruction have the
potential to greatly infuence what is taught.

10 Limitations and Future Directions

This analysis was conducted on the texts for Standard 4 and Standard 5.
Limitations of this study include the lack of reading comprehension assessments
to allow for compari son of low areas of achievement and textbook instruction and
the focus on one textbook series. Future studies should explore reading
achievement at Standards 4 and 5 and how that achievement maps to reading
comprehension instruction provided in reading text books. Future studies should
also analyze the most widely used reading textbooks in Kenya to analyze the
reading instruction across textbooks for common weaknesses or strengths based
on reading research. Another limitation of the study is the lack of observational
teaching data to help illuminate how the textbooks are integrated into the full
ecological component of reading instruction. While textbooks are a critical part of
the ecological component of reading acquisition, how textbooks are used is also
an important element of the ecological component. Future studies should survey
teachers and school administrators about textbook use and conduct multiple feld
observations to collect data about textbook use. Furthermore, we looked at only
the reading comprehension questions. Future research should be conducted on
the writing elements of the curriculum as well as a detailed content analysis.

References
Aaron, P. G. R., Joshi, M., Gooden, R., & Bentum, K. E. (2008). Diagnosis and treatment of
reading dis abilities based on the component model of reading. Journal of Learning Disabilities,
41, 67–84. Aferbach, P., & Cho, B. (2009). Identifying and describing constructively responsive
comprehension strat egies in new and traditional forms of reading. In S. Israel & G. Dufy (Eds.),
Handbook of research on reading comprehension (pp. 69–90). New York: Routledge.
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and
assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.
Anderson, R. C., & Pearson, P. D. (1984). A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading
compre hension. In P. D. R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, & P. Mosenthal (Eds.), Handbook of reading
research (pp. 255–291). New York: Longman.
Beerwinkle, A. L., Wijekumar, K., Walpole, S., & Aguis, R. (2018). An analysis of the ecological
com ponents within a text structure intervention. Reading and Writing, 31, 2041–2064.
https://doi. org/10.1007/s11145-018-9870-5.
Beerwinkle, A. L., Owens, J., & Hudson, A. (2020). An analysis of comprehension strategies and
skills cov ered within grade 3–5 reading textbooks in the United States. Technology,
Knowledge and Learning. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-020-09484-0.
Berninger, V. W., Dunn, A., Lin, S. C., & Shimada, S. (2004). School evolution:
Scientist–practitioner edu cators creating optimal learning environments for all students.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37, 500–508.
Binks-Cantrell, E., Washburn, E. K., Joshi, R. M., & Hougen, M. (2012). Peter efect in the
preparation of reading teachers. Scientifc Studies of Reading, 16, 526–536.
Chall, J. S. (1983). Stages of reading development. NY: McGraw-Hill.

13
An Analysis of Reading Comprehension Questions in Kenyan English… 441

Chiu, M. M., McBride-Chang, C., & Lin, D. (2012). Ecological, psychological, and cognitive
components of reading difculties: Testing the component model of reading in fourth graders
across 38 countries. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 45, 391–405.
CIA World Fact Book,
“Kenya,” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html Connor, C. M.,
Son, S., Hindman, A. H., & Morrison, F. J. (2005). Teacher qualifations, classroom prac tices,
family characteristics, and preschool experience: Complex efects on frst graders’ vocabulary and
early reading outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 343–375.
Cordeiro, C., Nunes, A., Castro, S. L., & Limpo, T. (2020). Teaching reading comprehension in
Portuguese primary and middle schools. Technology, Knowledge, and Learning.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s1075 8-020-09486-y.
Dudley-Marling, C. (2004). The social construction of learning disabilities. Journal of Learning
Disabili ties, 37, 482–489.
Fuller, B., & Clarke, P. (1994). Raising school efects while ignoring culture? Local conditions and
the infuence of classrooms, tools, rules and pedagogy. Review of Educational Research, 64(1),
119–157. Glewwe, P., Kremer, M., & Moulin, S. (2009). Many children left behind? Textbooks and
test scores in Kenya. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(1), 112–135.
Gough, P. B., & Tunmer, W. (1986). Decoding, reading, and reading disability. Remedial and
Special Edu cation, 7, 6–10.
Hebert, M., Bohaty, J. J., Nelson, J. R., & Brown, J. (2016). The efects of text structure instruction
on expository reading comprehension: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology,
105, 609–629.
Honig, B., Diamond, L., & Gutlohn, L. (2018). Teaching reading sourcebook (3rd ed.). Arena
Press. Hoover, W. A., & Gough, P. B. (1990). The simple view of reading. Reading and Writing:
An Interdiscipli nary Journal, 2, 127–160.
Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development. (2019). Grade 4 Volume One-March 2019. Available
at https:// kicd.ac.ke/cbc-materials/curriculum-design/#G4vol1 on January 5, 2021.
Kintsch, W. (1998). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. New York: Cambridge University
Press. McKenna, M., & Stahl, S. (2009). Assessment for reading instruction (2nd ed.). New York:
Guilford Press. Mucherah, W., & Herendeen, A. (2013). Motivation for reading and upper primary
schools stu
dents’ academic achievement in reading in Kenya. Reading Psychology, 34, 569–593.
 https://doi. org/10.1080/02702711.2012.664249.
Mullis, I. V. S., & Martin, M. O. (Eds.). (2015). PIRLS 2016 assessment framework (2nd ed.).
TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center.
https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/framework.html. National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) (2020). Available at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/internatio nal/ on January 4, 2021.
Pearson, D. P., & Johnson, D. (1978). Teaching reading comprehension. Rinehart and Winston,
NY: Holt. Piasta, S. B., Connor, C. M., Fishman, B. J., & Morrison, F. J. (2009). Teacher’s
knowledge of literacy concepts, classroom practices, and student reading growth. Scientifc
Studies of Reading, 13, 224–248. Piper, B., Bulat, J., Johnstron, (2015, March 4–7) Reading skill
transfer across languages: Outcomes from longitudinal bilingual randomized control trials in
Kenya and Haiti [Paper presentation]. Society for Research on Educational Efectiveness Spring
Conference, Washington, D.C.
Smith, M. C. (1993). Change in reading ability and attitudes from childhood to adulthood: A life
span per spective. In S. R. Yussen & M. C. Smith (Eds.), Reading across the life span
Recent Research in Psy chology. NY: Springer.
Snow, C. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an R&D program in reading comprehension.
Santa Monica: RAND.
UNICEF, Basic Education and Gender Equality, /retrieved from:
”http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/ index_bigpicture.html.
Zuilkowski, S.S. & Piper, B. (2014, March 6–8). Improving reading outcomes in Kenya: First-year
efects of the PRIMR initiative [Paper presentation]. Society for Research on Educational
Efectiveness Spring Conference, Washington, D.C.

Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published
maps and institutional afliations.

13