Understanding the contextual factors affecting ESL struggling readers’ learning experience: An insight from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of human development.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss the contextual elements surrounding the struggling readers in the ESL Malaysian primary classroom. By using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of human development we offer a rich and holistic understanding of the dynamic interactions among children, parents and teachers that influence the students’ learning experiences and development. This is a qualitative study involving six students, seven parents and one primary teacher of year one. Interviews, observations and document collections are utilised to garner information from the participants. Data was inductively analysed to identify issues related to ecological systems surrounding the children delivering insights for theory, policy and practice.