Research 

‘This thesis deals with work I have undertaken on the theoretical issues and practical approaches that have contributed to the changes taking place in the early literacy field in South Africa, and, by extension, in some extent, other parts of Africa. In this chapter I summarise and update the themes and content of the six chapters that follow which were written between 1997 and 2005.Taken as a whole, they reflect the range of influences and issues I have grappled with and helped to inform, as well as pertinent research and approaches to classroom teaching and materials development I have engaged in for more than a decade of academic, professional and activist work on early childhood literacy. This has been done mainly at the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA) at the University of Cape Town in many collaborative projects with various colleagues. I also submit a range of learning materials because these are integral to my thesis as practical manifestations of aspects of the multifaceted work path I’ve taken.’ [p. 3] 

Summary Paper of a Cumulative Ph.D.Thesis presented to the Faculty of Education, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg by Carole Bloch (Cape Town) in 2006