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Author ORCID Identifier

Yen Vee Tan: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8726-8902

Abstract

In Sarawak, Malaysia, many children come from multicultural backgrounds and are predominantly non-native English speakers making preschool education essential for developing early literacy skills in English. However, high teacher-child ratios can impede effective learning. The READi system—a module-based, multisensory, web-based early literacy intervention—was introduced as a supplementary classroom tool to address this challenge. This pilot study specifically evaluated the effectiveness of the "Alphabet Adventure" module within the READi system on enhancing alphabet knowledge, with a focus on letter recognition and letter name knowledge. The research design employed a pretest-posttest control group approach grounded in the positivist paradigm. [YT1] Participants were selected through teacher referrals and paired based on their pretest performance to ensure comparable baselines before being randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. Data analyses were conducted using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank and Mann-Whitney U tests. The results indicate that the READi system significantly improves uppercase letter recognition among children. These findings offer valuable insights into future adaptations of the READi system, aimed at better addressing children's educational challenges and improving teaching practices.

First Page

25

Last Page

46

Ethics Approval

Yes

Declaration Statement

Data Availability Statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Funding Statement

The research reported in this article was supported by the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (F04/PARTNERS/2123/2021) and the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (Grant FRGS/1/2022/SS107/UNIMAS/02/4). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the funders.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

There are no conflicts of interest.

Ethics Approval Statement

Ethical approval (HREC (NM)/FSKPM/2023(12) was granted by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Cognitive Science and Human Development, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The approval to conduct research at the school was granted by the Ministry of Education Malaysia.

Participant Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from the parents by providing a consent form and participant information sheet that consisted of the research details.

Permission to Reproduce Material from Other Sources

N/A

Clinical Trial Registration

N/A

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