SYNTHETIC PHONICS MODULE TAILORED FOR RURAL AND AT-RISKPRESCHOOL READERS IN MALAYSIA: A NEEDS ANALYSIS

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to explore the necessity of designing a synthetic phonics module for rural Malaysian preschoolers who are atrisk of reading illiteracy with a semi-structured interview and document analysis. A total of 10 professionals were interviewed while five documents were thematically analysed. The interview data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed under Braun and Clark’s (2006)six-phase thematic analysis framework. Meanwhile, the aforementioned documents were evaluated through content-thematic analysis integrations. Resultantly, the primary content and objective of teaching reading emphasized phonics skills. The approaches constituted habitual actions of reading and play with a focus on sound, name, and letter-sound correspondence skills. The essentiality of parental engagement was also highlighted. On another note, the evaluation instruments should be developed with user manuals, instructions, scoring rubrics, and answer sheets and administered in a more conducive setting. Overall, the synthetic phonics module for rural and at-risk preschoolers should be developed with parental engagement.