PAEDAGOGIA
Vol 29, No 1 (2026): PAEDAGOGIA Jilid 29 No 1 (2026)

The Effectiveness of Child-Friendly Media on the Reading Interest and Ability of Elementary School Students

Rujiani, Rujiani (Unknown)
Handoyo, Eko (Unknown)
Waluyo, Edi (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Mar 2026

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a child-friendly interactive magnetic board in improving elementary students' reading interest and early reading skills in regular and inclusive classrooms. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used to integrate quantitative and qualitative evidence. Participants were 12 students selected purposively from two schools: six Grade-1 students from SD Negeri Tlogowungu 02 (regular setting) and six Grade-2 students from SD Negeri Trangkil 06 (inclusive setting with diverse learning needs). Reading interest was assessed through structured observations (attention, enthusiasm, verbal response, participation), while reading skills were measured using a teacher-administered early literacy test (letter recognition, word decoding, and simple sentence reading). Quantitatively, median reading-skill scores increased from 52.0 to 78.5 in the regular class and from 45.0 to 70.0 in the inclusive class after two intervention sessions; Wilcoxon signed-rank analysis indicated improvement in both groups (p = 0.031). Qualitative findings showed higher engagement, longer on-task behavior, and increased willingness to read aloud. The interactive magnetic board functioned as a child-friendly multisensory medium (visual, auditory, tactile) that supported motivation and literacy participation, including among students with learning difficulties. The study concludes that the media is a feasible and inclusive instructional tool for early literacy instruction, while also noting the need for larger samples and longer intervention periods in future studies

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