Sandvik, J. M., van Daal, V. H., & Ader, H. J. (2013). Emergent literacy: Preschool teachers’ beliefs and practices. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 14(1), 28–52. doi:10.1177/1468798413478026
Summary
The point of this study was to get an idea of what preschool teachers’ beliefs about literacy were and whether or not those beliefs impacted their practice. The authors of this study acknowledge that there is no question that the earlier literacy skills are fostered, the better, as there is research that links strong emergent literacy skills in the preschool years to later success as a reader. Essentially, this study demonstrated that training on a literacy development program for teachers more heavily impacts their beliefs about reading itself rather than instructional practices that foster literacy development. Beliefs and practice of preschool teachers were examined through a survey. Before conducting the survey, the researchers identified instructional practices that foster emergent literacy skills. To decide if these instructional practices were being implemented, teachers were asked about this on their survey. To determine what their opinions were about emergent literacy, they were also asked a series of questions. From the survey data, the researchers were able to determine that specific literacy trainings do impact belief about instructional techniques but do not correspond to changes in practice.
Contribution to the Field
The major contribution to the field of emergent literacy is that though training in emergent literacy programs may positively impact a teacher’s beliefs about certain instructional practices, the training has little to no effect on actual teacher practice.
Literature Review
From the review of literature, the authors discuss how there is disagreement within the early childhood community about the role of literacy. Some of this has to do with misunderstanding about what emergent literacy is. People are so fixated on the word literacy, that they assume that emergent literacy suggests that students directly need to read and write. However, the author’s define emergent literacy as simply processes that foster the ability to read and write successfully later in life. Additionally, the role of literacy in classrooms is challenged by “deep seated beliefs” (Sandvick, van Daal & Ader, 2013, p. 30) held by teachers. Those deep seated beliefs include uncertainty about how literacy should be carried out in preschool. Some preschool teachers do not believe that literacy skills should be promoted in preschool. Another challenging component is that research suggests that there is much ambivalence on the behalf of preschool teachers about what their role is in promoting literacy with their students.
Theoretical Framework/Lens
The theoretical framework was cohesive. First, the authors hypothesized as to why there was disagreement within the preschool educator community about the role of emergent literacy, based on the current research. The authors acknowledged that there is little to no argument about success in early literacy translates into later on reading success.
The lens that this study went through was that though there is understanding about the importance of early literacy, this does not necessarily imply that the instructional practices to support this will be in place. This means that what teachers believe does not necessarily inform their practice. In other words, a teacher can believe that it is important to promote early literacy but not have that reflected in their instruction.
Data Collection Methods
In order to find out more about teacher beliefs and practices, the researchers conducted a 130 item survey between two groups of preschool teachers: those who had participated in a literacy training program which promoted practices such as reading aloud and phonological awareness and a group of teachers who had not, the latter serving as a control group. The goal of the survey was to get a sense of teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about emergent literacy practices and what their actual literacy practices in their classrooms were.
Analysis
I thought the method used here was solid. A survey was given to teachers to measure their beliefs about literacy, what they did in practice and whether or not these practices were in line with current research. The only area of concern I see is with this approach is that I feel many respondents might feel inclined to be dishonest about their practices, particularly the ones who went through the literacy training. I cannot help but think if I went through training on literacy practices, I would be inclined to say that I do these practices because I am always seeking for approval, to be the star student, even though it would be made clear that this was going to be anonymous. Granted, the survey showed that beliefs did not change practice, so it seems like I would be wrong in my theory. However, I would love to see further study on what the impact on ‘practice’ or lack thereof is in order to get a firmer response. This might mean that researchers will have to actually go into classrooms during literacy instruction to see if any of those practices that they claim or disclaim are in fact being followed.
Findings
Though preschool teachers had moderately positive beliefs about literacy in preschool, the authors of this study contend that beliefs do not correspond to practice. As Sandvik, van Daal, and Ader (2013) conclude, “with the exception of Shared Reading, preschool teachers reported engaging in all other literacy-related activities (Emerging Reading and Writing, Letter Knowledge, Phonological Awareness, and Literacy in Play), on average, only 0-5 minutes per day on any given literacy-related activity” (p. 46).
Discussion/Conclusions
There are several conclusions to come to from this study:
- Students need to learn about reading in the emergent literacy phase in order to be prepared to read when they reach school
- Exploration by the child and adult-directed activities work in conjunction with one another during the preschool years to foster later literacy
- Children need to engage in storybook reading by interacting with the text through retelling, asking questions, reimagining the text. This makes reading fun.
- Phonological awareness is as important as storybook reading and can be made fun through games
- Identifying literacy issues can be done in the preschool years and is encouraged. Interventions will be more effective the earlier they are identified.
- Further research is needed on the identified literacy skills “can
best be promoted in preschool” (Sandvik, van Daal, & Ader, 2013, p. 44).
In thinking about how some of our lowest income students might have access to preschool through Head Start, it is absolutely crucial that we are giving teachers the best programs and materials to teach our youngest students how to read. Having teachers simply believe that literacy is important is not good enough to get our kids literate. We must equip our teachers with the best resources and train them on how to use them in order to increase access to education through literacy.
Raquel Ellis
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