Development of Picture Storytelling Books to Enhance Morality and Word Reading Ability of Special Needs Students in Thailand

Abstract

This study aimed to 1) develop picture storytelling books for enhance morality and word reading ability of student with special needs. 2) examine the effectiveness of picture storytelling books. The subjects were 40 students of grade 1 to 3 who had a learning disabilities or mild intellectual disabilities. The students were selected by using purposive sampling and were studying in the second semester of the 2021 academic year at eight government schools with special education programs: 1. Rajaprajanugroh 46 School 2. Wat Samuha Pradit School 3. Watnonsaparam School 4. Anuban Saohai School 5. Wat Sathu Prachasan School 6. Anuban Saradaeng School 7. Watkhaojumpa School 8. Anuban Saraburi School. The research instruments were employed: 1) the word reading test, 2) the lesson plan for word reading, 3) the awareness of morality evaluation, 4) the students’ happiness questionnaire, and 5) the teachers’ satisfaction questionnaire. Descriptive statistics (i.e., percentage, dependent sample t-test) were used to analyze the data. The main findings can be summarized as follows: 1) The picture storytelling books: The content was related to eight types of morality, which included diligence, saving, honesty, being disciplined, Manners, cleanliness, harmony and kindness. The CVI scores of stories 1, 4, and 7 were 0.97-1.00 and stories 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 were 1.00. 2) the word reading ability of the students who had learning disabilities was excellent and mild intellectual disabilities was below average; 3) the word reading ability of both groups was higher; 4) the students’ awareness of morality and happiness was high; and 5) the teachers were strongly satisfied with using the picture storytelling books.