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In line with this year’s International Women’s Day theme "For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment", the Pacific Community (SPC) reflected on the alignment of the Synthetic Systematic Phonics (SSP) programme outcomes with the 2025 IWD theme.
While maintaining a gender-neutral approach, the SSP echoes the IWD’s call to action: equal opportunities in education which is key to fostering leadership and economic independence for women in the future.
Phonics is a method of teaching reading by associating sounds with letters or groups of letters in a language. This initiative, the first of its kind implemented in Samoa, promotes phonics-based learning while also helping to safeguard the Samoan language in schools.
Sharonbada Seminare, a year three (3) student of Palauli Primary School, loves reading books and has a passion for poetry and song. Under the Phonics programme, she learnt the art of connecting letters to sounds, boosting her reading skills and introducing her to the world of literature.
Similarly, Agnesepifania Ralio, year 4 student at Palauli Primary School, found it challenging to identify letter sounds and blending them together. Determined not to be held back, Agnesepifania worked diligently on Phonics exercises and practiced reading daily. Her persistence paid off with the ability to read proficiently and her growing love for reading.
At Lepea Primary School, the determined Aplowel Misipisone, a year four (4) student with dreams to become a writer, faced difficulties in reading and understanding Samoan text. Through the Phonics programme, Misipisone grasped the fundamentals of blending letter and sounds together. She learnt to identify and read diacritical marks, a crucial aspect of Samoan language. These newfound abilities enhanced her comprehension of the Samoan text and boosted her confidence in literacy.
Maria Ioane, year 3, also started her literacy journey with a few hiccups in pronunciation and reading. Under the Samoa Phonics Programme, Maria has mastered the letters with sound and blending them together to make a word. She gained confidence in her pronunciation, now having a newfound dedication to reading, developing a genuine love for books and an insatiable curiosity for literacy knowledge.
Doreen Tuala, SPC's Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP), Curriculum Assessment Team Leader, highlighted that the project not only enhanced children's literacy skills but also boosted teachers’ confidence in delivering literacy lessons.
“Through the project, teachers were encouraged to plan the next steps for individual students’ learning and to track students’ reading development,” said Tuala.
Moana Taise, a passionate teacher at Falefitu Primary School emphasised the changes she observed in her students but most importantly, in her teaching skills after she used the phonics approach.
“Now, I enjoy teaching after I used the phonics approach, I just write up words and students can read and pronounce words correctly, “said Taise.
The Phonics project was developed in response to low literacy levels in early-grade classrooms, as highlighted in the 2021 Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA). The findings from this project will also inform the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in Samoa, supporting policy decisions and identifying schools or teachers that require further assistance.
By investing in literacy through programmes such as SSP, SPC is actively contributing to gender equality in education. As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, initiatives like these serve as a reminder that empowering young girls with literacy skills is a crucial step toward building a more inclusive and equitable future.
