The Teaching of Literacy in Panama: Challenges in Practices and Environments

In order to describe and compare the school literacy environment and teaching practices among second and fourth grade Spanish teachers in public and private schools in the provinces of Panama and Panama Oeste, a total of 71 Spanish class observations were conducted, utilizing the ELLCO K-3 rubric to quantify the quality of literacy teaching, along with field notes for deeper qualitative understanding of the teaching process. Researchers found limited evidence of a high quality classroom environment or effective educational practices recommended by the literature. In second grade, scores were similar between private and public schools, slightly below 2 on a scale of 1 to 5. However, in fourth grade there was a larger difference between both systems, with scores of 1.85 and 2.7 respectively. Teaching practices aligned with the effective development of language and literacy were mostly absent in both types of schools, with scores below 1.4 in second grade and below 1.6 in fourth grade, with a slight advantage towards private schools. Results suggest the urgent need for interventions that address teachers’ current educational strategies through initial and continuous training, and a renewed commitment to integrate effective approaches in the teaching of literacy in Panama.