Direct or Indirect Instruction on Environmental Print in Enhancing Letter Name Knowledge in Tanzanian Public Pre-Primary Classes: Which Works Better?
Abstract
The current study investigated the effects of direct and indirect instruction on environmental print to enhance Letter Name Knowledge (LNK). The research's foundations were sociocultural (direct) and constructivist (indirect) theories. The study was an eight-week intervention. It took place in the Shinyanga District Council, Tanzania, using a positivist, quantitative approach with a randomised experiment design and no control group. The study included two experimental groups—direct and indirect instruction—across six randomly selected schools from three wards. The participants were public pre-primary children, 293 (162 indirect, 131 indirect) and six teachers (three from each instructional type). The pre-primary teachers were responsible for enhancing LNK during the environmental print intervention, and their work was evaluated using the Fidelity Implementation checklist. The findings indicated insignificant differences in direct and indirect instruction on environmental print on enhancing LNK in both pretest and posttest. Data were collected through intervention tests and observations. Independent samples t-test, Welch t-test, and Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance (W) were used in analysing data. The finding is substantiated by constructivism and sociocultural theory, which suggest that both instructional strategies work better. This perspective supports the idea that both instructions contribute to ensuring that all children, regardless of their background, receive equitable access to quality early literacy education. Improvement in LNK is crucial, as it fosters early reading skills in children, ultimately contributing to equitable quality education, which supports sustainable development goals (4). Recommendation to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to develop and provide professional development workshops for pre-primary educators focused on effective strategies for teaching environmental print to enhance letter name knowledge (LNK). Further research needs to be done on pre-primary teachers' views on the challenges and benefits of environmental print strategies. Also, research is needed on the impact of environmental print instruction on children with diverse learning needs and backgrounds.
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