doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2026.16.7.2642
Development of the SmartJawi App: An Interactive Learning Tool for Children Aged 4–5 Years Old
Azam Ghazali1,*
,
Mohd Mahzan Awang1 ,
Zakiah Mohamad Ashari2 ,
Joanne Hardman3 ,
Mazeni Ismail4 ,
Haiza Hayati Baharudin5
- 1Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
- 2Faculty of Educational Sciences and Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia
- 3Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- 4Faculty of Education, MARA Poly-Tech College, Kelantan, Malaysia
- 5Centre for ODL & Professional Education, Sultan Azlan Shah University, Perak, Malaysia
- Manuscript receivedDecember 11, 2025
- revisedJanuary 14, 2026
- acceptedFebruary 25, 2026
- publishedJuly 15, 2026
Abstract
The traditional script known as Jawi, used in the Malay language, is a key aspect of the cultural and linguistic heritage of Malay speakers. However, the declining use of Jawi in modern education has raised concerns with regard to children’s exposure to the script and their competence in its use, especially at the kindergarten level. Thus, the current study aimed to develop and test an innovation, the SmartJawi App, to enhance the learning motivation of children aged 4 to 5 during Jawi Education in early childhood education settings. The study was developed according to the Design and Development Research (DDR) paradigm, which involved a multilateral approach and was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 involved a needs assessment that included semi-structured interviews with three kindergarten educators to identify current pedagogical problems. Meanwhile, Phase 2 included developing the SmartJawi App, with three subject-matter experts involved in the process. Moreover, Phase 3 evaluated the application’s effectiveness through a six-week intervention involving one kindergarten educator and nine preschool children. The findings revealed that the SmartJawi App positively affected children’s learning motivation. Additionally, the application’s interactive elements contributed to higher levels of reading and writing skills among young learners. This study also highlights the potential of digital educational tools to support early literacy and preserve linguistic heritage. Overall, the results suggest that SmartJawi App can serve as an effective supplementary resource for kindergarten Jawi instruction.
Keywords
- early childhood education
- educational technology
- learning motivation
- Jawi literacy
How to Cite
Azam Ghazali, Mohd Mahzan Awang, Zakiah Mohamad Ashari, Joanne Hardman, Mazeni Ismail, and Haiza Hayati Baharudin, "Development of the SmartJawi App: An Interactive Learning Tool for Children Aged 4–5 Years Old," International Journal of Information and Education Technology, vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 1797-1804, 2026. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijiet.2026.16.7.2642
Copyright & License
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).