Understanding Primary School Teachers’ Remediation Strategies in Assisting Pupils with Reading (Phonic) Difficulties

Reading difficulty is a major concern for basic school teachers in Ghana, as the majority of pupils in primary schools cannot read and subsequently, produce abysmal performance in the English Language subject. This research conducted a qualitative inquiry into exploring the approaches used by teachers to remediate phonics difficulties among struggling readers at Unipra South Cluster of Schools at Winneba. Grade 4 English Language teachers were sampled to participate in the study. An unstructured interview was conducted to collect data with the help of an interview guide. Data were analyzed using the thematic analysis approach. The study found that the grade 4 teachers predominantly used the jolly phonics and rhyming methods in remediating phonics difficulties among struggling readers. It was further revealed that materials used during instruction were flashcards, manila cards, chalkboards and textbooks. The study recommended that Ghana Education Service should design professional development programmes to equip teachers with effective strategies for reading instruction.