Evaluation of Phonics Content in Academic Degrees, Pre- and In-Service Teacher Training Programs, and Primary Grade Teacher Instructional Materials in Pakistan

Abstract

Teacher training and teacher instructional materials play integral roles in developing the knowledge and skills among the teachers and the learners and implementing any change in pedagogic policy. This research aims to probe the preparation of government primary grade teachers to teach phonics since its inclusion in the government school syllabus from 2015-2016 to identify the areas of teacher preparation that need improvement. The data was collected through a survey of 230 (Male=115, Female=115) government primary school teachers’ academic and professional qualifications alongside the pre-and in-service teacher training programs they had attended. Based on their responses, the contents of the academic & professional degrees, pre-and in-service teacher training programs, and teacher instructional materials were evaluated through the researcher-made checklists. The analysis and the findings realize that although the pronunciation component is part of these teacher preparation programs, no phonics-related content is included in all these teacher preparation programs. Teacher instructional materials are a good resource to teach phonics as they provide all the linguistic information related to phonics instruction but ironically only a few teachers consult it as a teaching resource. It can be concluded that primary-grade teachers are not fully equipped to teach phonics. On these grounds, it is recommended that phonics should be incorporated alongside the pronunciation component in the academic and professional degree programs and pre-and in-service teacher training to bring a positive change in primary grade classrooms and make the pedagogic policy change effective.