Beyond Narrow Views on First-Grade Reading Instruction in Saudi Arabia: Insights from First-Grade Saudi Reading Teachers

Recent development in reading research and instruction has highlighted the need to unpack certain claims about how children learn to read and how reading is taught. These claims where challenged by different scholars in the field, pointing to the complexity of reading. Much of this research, however, was done where English is taught as a first language (e.g., United States, UK). Lacking supporting evidence, a review of the literature on early Arabic reading instruction in Saudi Arabia has highlighted different claims about how Arabic early reading is taught and what teachers know about early reading. For example, teaching Arabic early reading is rooted in whole word approaches, teachers lack phonological and phonemic knowledge needed to teach children to read, and that teachers follow a prescribed curriculum while not paying attention to students’ individual differences. However, these claims do not engage with the complexities of reading or reading instruction. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine Saudi first grade teachers’ reading instructional practices in relation to these claims. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach with six first grade Saudi teachers, data from interviews and artifacts show that teachers move between whole-word and component-focused (e.g., phonemic and phonological) instruction in a dynamic way. Through their instructional practices, teachers demonstrate what they know about the phonemic and phonological structure of Arabic in ways that responds to students’ reading needs. Teachers also show and discuss their agency in relation to how they navigate the curriculum to support first-graders’ reading development. Findings are discussed in light of complexity of reading, reading in Arabic, and reading instruction as well as from teachers’ funds of knowledge.