Towards inclusive gamified literacy interfaces for Malaysian students with dyslexia: integrating the DeLone and McLean information systems success model

Dyslexia presents persistent challenges in reading fluency, spelling and decoding, which negatively impact primary school students’ academic outcomes and self-esteem. Students from low-income (B40) households in Malaysia face additional challenges owing to limited access to specialised support and assistive technologies. Gamification has emerged as an effective instructional method for increasing motivation, engagement and retention. However, most gamified literacy applications are intended for neurotypical users and lack a theoretical foundation. This study synthesises recent literature (2020–2025) on gamified literacy interfaces for students with dyslexia to identify key design components and integrate them with DeLone and McLean Information Systems (IS) Success Model. A structured search of Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore and Google Scholar yielded 17 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Through literature synthesis and content categorisation, the analysis revealed common design features such as dyslexia-friendly fonts, multimodal content, reward mechanisms, storytelling and cultural adaptation. These components were systematically aligned with the six DeLone and McLean IS Success dimensions to propose a pre-implementation conceptual framework for inclusive gamified literacy tools. The findings also underscore the importance of lightweight, accessible and culturally adaptive interfaces to address digital inequalities among Malaysia’s B40 students. By situating these interfaces within the Malaysian context and the global sustainability agenda—particularly Sustainable Development Goal 4 (quality education)—this study contributes a theoretically informed and contextually relevant framework for promoting equality and digital transformation in primary education for Malaysian students with dyslexia.