Creative Education, 2019, 10, 2887-2898 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ce ISSN Online: 2151-4771 ISSN Print: 2151-4755 DOI: 10.4236/ce.2019.1012214 Nov. 29, 2019 2887 Creative Education Further Study on Implementing Thematic Teaching in Preschool: A Needs Analysis Research Diani Mardiana Mat Zin, Suziyani Mohamed, Kamariah Abu Bakar, Nurul Khairani Ismail Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Abstract Thematic teaching has been introduced through the Malaysian Preschool Education Curriculum Guidelines (KPM, 1993) since 1993. This research is a preliminary review aimed at looking at the need to conduct further studies on the implementation of thematic teaching and to determine the focus of the research. This research explores the current understanding and practice of eight teachers from eight preschools in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan in im- plementing thematic teaching. Data collected for this research was based on document analysis, observations, and interviews. Findings of the research show that there were various levels of understanding and methods employed in implementing thematic teaching in the selected preschools. Teachers’ un- derstanding is divided into several categories: 1) understanding thematic teaching as curriculum; 2) understanding thematic teaching as an approach; 3) the minimum understanding of thematic teaching; and 4) no understand- ing of thematic teaching at all. In terms of planning, only two of the teachers integrated thematic teaching in their annual, weekly, and daily lesson plans. The findings on the implementation of thematic teaching also show that teachers: 1) used thematic teaching as the basis of the curriculum; 2) applied thematic teaching as one of the teaching approaches; 3) used thematic teach- ing based on the requirements of the teaching and learning; and 4) had not used thematic teaching. This finding supports the need for further research on thematic teaching. A detailed research on the implementation of more practical and friendly thematic teaching for teachers that also fulfills the prin- ciples of implementation of such teaching and the overall developmental needs of children should be undertaken. Keywords Thematic Approach, Thematic Teaching, Thematic Curriculum, Early How to cite this paper: Zin, D. M. M., Mohamed, S., Bakar, K. A., & Ismail, N. K. (2019). Further Study on Implementing Thematic Teaching in Preschool: A Needs Analysis Research. Creative Education, 10, 2887-2898. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.1012214 Received: October 21, 2019 Accepted: November 26, 2019 Published: November 29, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access