English abstract
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a synthetic approach to phonics, specifically
Jolly Phonics (JP), to determine its contribution to Omani third graders' acquisition of
literacy skills. To achieve this, students' performance in these skills was compared with the
programme's intended objectives, as set by the Ministry of Education (MOE). Moreover, the
study investigated whether there are any differences between boys' and girls' attainment of
the target literacy skills.
The study sample consisted of 117 Omani male and female third graders in two cycle
one schools in Al-Dhahira Governorate in the Sultanate of Oman during the academic year
2019/2020. The study investigated the extent to which the synthetic approach to phonics
impacted Omani third graders' literacy skills in terms of: the alphabetic principle (i.e.
uppercase (UC) and lowercase (LC) recognition skills, letter-sound correspondence and
blending skills); phoneme segmentation skills; accuracy and fluency of reading connected
texts; and, spelling skills. It also examined whether gender was a variable. The study
employed a quantitative descriptive research design, in which data was collected using four
research instruments including the Alphabetic Principle Test, Dynamic Indicators of Basic
Literacy Early Skills (DIBLES) Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) Test, DIBLES Oral
Reading Fluency (ORF) Test and a Spelling Test. The validity of instruments was examined
by a panel of experts and the reliability was examined by Pearson Correlation Coefficient.
Quantitative data gained from the four research instruments were analysed statistically using
SPSS. An independent-sample t-test was used to explore any differences with respect to
gender.
The students' mean scores in the four tests were calculated and then compared to the
minimum required level for each skill using the one-sample t-test to present a general
estimated effect ofJP on third graders' literacy skills. Additionally, descriptive statistics were
used to analyse the specific impact of this programme on each skill separately. The findings
revealed that the Omani third graders in the study sample on average have achieved JP's
objectives and performed at or above the required grade level in phoneme segmentation
skills, letter-sound correspondence and UC and LC recognition. However, on average, they
have not achieved the JP's objectives and performed poorly against the grade level
expectations for accuracy and fluency of reading connected texts, spelling skills and blending
skills. Moreover, the findings revealed weaknesses when segmenting whole words correctly,
as well as weaknesses identifying most of the letter-sound correspondences, except for
consonants, which most students were able to identify. With respect to gender, there were no
statistically significant differences between males and females in the literacy skills tested.
Different contextual factors contributed to these findings. Some relate to the
programme's implementation; i.e. the number of JP lessons, number of phonics, phonemic
awareness, reading and spelling practice activities provided in the JP students' phonics
handbook, the unavailability of graded readers within the programme; and teacher related
factors including current practices regarding the plan set by the Ministry, teachers' levels of
phonemic awareness, the adequacy of the JP training they received. The study concluded
with a set of recommendations for the MOE, English regional supervisors, English senior
teachers and English teachers, in order to develop the delivery of synthetic phonics teaching
as a literacy-enhancing approach, namely JP, in the Omani context. Finally, suggestions for
future research were proposed.
