Evaluation of the LINUS Program in Malaysian Three Types of National Primary Schools

LINUS is a program implemented by the Malaysian Ministry of Education in primary schools across the country to improve the literacy abilities of children in Years 1 to 3. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the LINUS program implemented since 2010. In this study, the Freebody and Luke (1990) Critical Literacy Model was used. Reading and writing examinations for the Malay Language subject were created using the LINUS Module and administered to 120 students from three different types of schools: National Schools, National-type Chinese Schools, and National-type Tamil Schools. The findings revealed that students' reading and writing abilities were average. Ethnic is a main factor that affects the language learning of the students. One-way ANOVA tests revealed substantial variations in reading and writing competency between ethnic and school types; students from National Schools did best in the reading exam, while students from National-type Chinese Schools excelled in the writing test. In contrast, the pupils' reading and writing skills were unaffected by their families' monthly income. As a result, when implementing the LINUS program, teachers should consider ethnic and school types as the primary determinants determining the level of literacy, achievement, and success of the LINUS program.