Norwegian teachers and school leaders had to organise and provide homeschooling for their students from March to May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey conducted in May 2020 examined lower secondary school students' experiences of distance learning. How students at different levels of academic achievement (based on grades) experienced homeschooling was compared to comparable findings from a survey conducted on students from the same schools during the autumn of 2018. The findings indicate that students experienced less support and feedback from their teachers during homeschooling, and that teachers gave more written than oral feedback to the students during homeschooling than they do in regular school. Furthermore, there was a tendency of lower efforts and self-efficacy among low-achieving students, which might be difficult to reverse when schools reopen. The findings raise growing concerns about homeschooling leading to a larger gap between high-and low-achieving students in lower secondary school.

The African Storybook (ASb) is a digital initiative that promotes multilingual literacy for African children by providing openly licenced children's stories in multiple African languages, as well as English, French, and Portuguese. Based on Darvin and Norton's () model of identity and investment, and drawing on the Douglas Fir Group's () framework for second language acquisition, this study investigates Ugandan primary school teachers’ investment in the ASb, its impact on their teaching, and their changing identities. The study was conducted in a rural Ugandan school from June to December 2014, and the data, which focus on one key participant, Monica, were drawn from field notes, classroom observations, interview transcripts, and questionnaires, which were coded using retroductive coding. The findings indicate that through the ASb initiative and its stories, Monica and other teachers began to imagine themselves as writers, readers, and teachers of stories, reframing what it means to be a reading teacher. Teachers’ shifts of identity were indexical of their enhanced social and cultural capital as they engaged with the ASb, notwithstanding ideological constraints associated with mother tongue usage, assessment practices, and teacher supervision. The authors conclude that the enhancement of language teacher identity has important implications for the promotion of multilingual literacy for young learners in African communities.

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This paper discusses what is meant by “reading culture”, and how a rural community library in Uganda can contribute to promoting one, by posing the question: How does a community library promote a reading culture in Uganda, and how successful is it in doing this? Data consist of semi-structured interviews, observations, and the library records of borrowed items. Street’s (1984) concepts of “autonomous” and “ideological” models of literacy are adapted to develop a framework of critical questions. The findings indicate that the library is based on a local initiative, relatively well resourced, and fairly well integrated in the community. Together, these indicate the gradual development of a reading culture. Rather than assuming libraries and literacy are intrinsically good, this article stresses the need to take on a critical view of the role and function of community libraries in developing countries, and suggests a framework for doing this.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the constraints of and opportunities for the role of African community libraries in development, using an ecological framework for library development. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on a review of the literature and the three authors’ own experiences, the paper critically examines community libraries, mainly from Uganda and Ethiopia, and frames the analysis within an ecological framework of library development. Findings – There are many examples of community libraries that realize various elements of the ecological framework (context/environment, equity/social justice, partnerships/interactions, and action/research). Practical implications – The ecological framework further developed in this paper helps community library leaders to critically examine their programmes and services and develop strategies for further growth, and suggests closer collaboration between community librarians, local communities, and researchers. Originality/value – This paper addresses the need to move beyond community library research on the predominant outputs (library statistics) and outcomes (societal value/impact) models, adding a critical perspective of the larger social and political structures that limit and shape the development of community libraries.