THE EFFECTIVENESS OF KitAB Cerdas© ON CHILDREN’S READING ABILITY

Abstract

The early reading ability is necessary for children’s reading development. The early reading skill should be acquired by the children as early as they could in order to master the reading skill. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of early reading learning kit named KitAB Cerdas© for children in the Taman Asuhan Kanak-kanak (TASKA) in Malaysia. KitAB Cerdas© which is developed based on the principles of multiple intelligences’s stimulus. It consists of a wide range of learning media. A quasi-experimental study was conducted to children aged three to four years old (3+) of the Yayasan Pembangunan Keluarga Terengganu (YPKT) TASKA. Subjects were divided into two groups of treatment and control groups. A checklist of children’s early literacy and an early reading test (pre-test and post-test) were used in the study. Independent samples t-test was used to identify the mean difference of early reading achievement between the treatment group and the control group. Results showed that KitAB Cerdas© was effectively in the early reading instructions based on the t-test results which showed a significant difference between the treatment group and the control group, t (41) = +3.181, p <0.05 for Kemaman Constituency, and Hulu Terengganu Constituency, t (38 ) = +2.764, p <0.05. Findings of this study are beneficial for teachers and parents in order to help TASKA children’s acquire the early reading skill in their early years.