Discussion
Early childhood educators in this sample appear to be making concerted efforts to engage children in a variety of important language and literacy activities in their centers. The majority of respondents indicated that they make frequent attempts to read aloud to children in a group setting. Two-thirds of those surveyed set aside a special time each day to read with the children in their care, and it appears from their responses that these reading experiences are accompanied by attempts to actively involve children in the process. A clear majority of educators not only talk about books they have read together (68.9%), but also ask children questions during and after reading times (74.4%). As noted earlier, these strategies are consistent with researchers' recommendations for strengthening the language and literacy skills of preschool-age children (Hargrave & Sénéchal, 2000; IRA/NAEYC, 1998; Whitehurst, Arnold, Epstein, Angell, Smith, & Fischel, 1994).
An examination of early childhood educators' practices also revealed that they provide frequent opportunities for children to interact with books and other print materials on their own, which can lead to greater print awareness (Morrow & Weinstein, 1986; Neuman & Roskos, 1997). Over 80% of respondents reported that they often or always provide children opportunities for self-directed interaction with print materials. In a related manner, the majority of those surveyed also indicated that they make frequent attempts to teach children various features of books, including the fact that printed letters and words run from left to right and from top to bottom on a page (63.3%).
Another recommended strategy that these early childhood educators appear to be focusing great attention on in their centers is the alphabetic principle (i.e., understanding that there is a relationship between letters and sounds) (Adams, 1990). Ninety percent of respondents indicated that they teach children to recognize letters of the alphabet, while over 90% (93.3%) often or always practice saying the alphabet with the children. A sizable majority (78.9%) of respondents also make frequent attempts to teach children the sounds that are associated with the letters of the alphabet.
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed make frequent efforts to engage children in writing exercises, which can facilitate subsequent literacy development (Richgels, 2001; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998). A clear majority of respondents work with children to help them identify various shapes, colors, sizes, numbers, and opposites. It is unknown, however, how early childhood educators go about teaching these concepts.
The final three items on the survey addressed activities that promote phonemic awareness, an important predictor of later reading success (IRA/NAEYC, 1998; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Educators reported that they frequently choose books to read aloud that focus on sounds, rhyming, and alliteration; have children sing or say familiar nursery rhymes; and encourage children to make up new verses of songs or rhymes.
While the above results appear to be very positive in terms of educator efforts to promote the early literacy skills of children in center-based care, a sizable minority of educators in this sample indicated that they do not frequently engage children in recommended literacy-based activities. Over 20% of respondents reported that they do not read aloud to children on a frequent basis (i.e., often or always), and an even greater percentage fail to read to children one-on-one. Also somewhat disturbing is the fact that a sizable percentage of respondents do not make frequent attempts to ask children questions during or after reading times. Approximately 8% reported that they never ask children questions about the books during or after the shared experience. The same applies to activities that facilitate children's phonemic awareness.
Results from the multiple regression analysis suggest that certain characteristics related to the educator and the program itself appear to have a positive influence on how often educators promote language and literacy activities in their centers. Availability of print materials at the center was one of the strongest predictors of early childhood educators' willingness or ability to engage children in important literacy activities. Studies have revealed that a minimum of five books per child are necessary to provide a basic print-rich environment (Morrow & Weinstein, 1986; Neuman & Roskos, 1997). Insufficient resources, such as a lack of high-quality children's literature, can hinder the ability of educators to provide essential literacy experiences for children. The IRA and NAEYC recommend in their position statement that early childhood classrooms, schools, and public libraries include a wide range of high-quality children's books, computer software, and other multimedia resources (IRA/NAEYC, 1998).
The other two variables significantly associated with early childhood educators' efforts to promote language and literacy activities in their centers included the educator's confidence in the training he or she received in basic literacy skills instruction and the number of children cared for in a particular program. Educators who perceived that they had received adequate training in how to teach children basic literacy skills (e.g., how to read, recognize letters of the alphabet) were more likely to engage children in frequent language and literacy activities. Interestingly, simply having received some training in how to teach children how to read did not significantly predict greater efforts to promote children's literacy skills. These results seem to imply that educators must be confident in the level of training they have received before they are willing to make greater efforts to promote certain literacy-based activities. More opportunities for training are likely needed.
The regression analysis revealed that educators caring for larger numbers of children were more likely to promote language and literacy activities in their centers. This finding is somewhat surprising given our typical assumptions about class sizes (i.e., the smaller the better). However, in this study, the average number of children cared for was 14.7, well below the maximum recommended group size of 20 for 4- and 5-year-olds (Howes, Phillips, & Whitebook, 1992; Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes Study Team, 1995). In the present investigation, data were not collected on adult-to-child ratios. It is very possible that early childhood educators in this study have assistance in their classrooms. If an additional adult were to be present in the classroom, the adult-to-child ratio would be approximately 1:7, which falls within recommended guidelines for adult-to-child ratios (IRA/NAEYC, 1998). There is some evidence, however, that young children can benefit from large-group activities. Dickinson and Sprague (2001) report that in their Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development (HSLLD), children as young as 3 and 4 years old benefited from participating in large-group language and literacy activities.
While the outcomes from this study provide valuable insight into early childhood educators' efforts to promote children's literacy development, the data have limitations that should be noted. First, the data collected in this investigation are based solely on the early childhood educator's perspective. Self-report data are widely used across the social sciences; however, such data are susceptible to social desirability bias. In addition, it would be helpful in future studies to consider the perspective of others (e.g., parents) who can provide insight into early literacy practices with children. For example, parents could share what they do in the home environment to promote their children's language and literacy skills, or they could provide an additional perspective on their children's experiences at the centers.
Second, although respectable in size, the sample used in the present investigation was not randomly selected; therefore, it may or may not be fully representative of early childhood programs across the nation. Some early childhood programs have greater access to funding sources and training support, enabling them to focus more attention on early literacy issues. In subsequent studies, it would be helpful to randomly select a group of educators from various early childhood programs to determine the extent to which early literacy skills are taught and if differences exist between program types.
Third, while results clearly indicate that the majority of early childhood educators in this sample believe they are implementing various activities to promote children's literacy development, the data are limited in the sense that they do not allow conclusions to be made concerning how the activities are actually implemented. For example, what strategies are these educators using to teach children how to recognize letters of the alphabet? How do they help children learn the sounds that each letter can represent? What types of questions do they ask children before, during, or after individual or group reading times? In what ways do they help children develop early writing skills? It is entirely possible that respondents in this sample believe they are doing the things necessary to promote children's literacy development, when in fact they might not have received sufficient training to know whether or not what they are doing is based on best practices established in the research.
Related to the above, respondents were asked only two questions on the survey that dealt with their training in basic literacy skills instruction (i.e., Have you received training on how to teach children to read? Do you feel you have received adequate training in how to teach children basic literacy skills?). It is important to know the answer to these two questions; however, more information could hav
สนทนานักการศึกษาปฐมวัยในตัวอย่างนี้จะ ทำให้ความพยายามร่วมกันเพื่อดึงดูดเด็กในหลากหลายภาษาที่สำคัญและวัดกิจกรรมในศูนย์ของพวกเขา ส่วนใหญ่ผู้ตอบระบุว่า พวกเขาทำบ่อยพยายามอ่านออกเสียงให้เด็กในกลุ่ม สองในสามของผู้สำรวจกันไว้เวลาพิเศษแต่ละวันการอ่านกับเด็กในการดูแลของพวกเขา และปรากฏจากการตอบรับว่า ประสบการณ์เหล่านี้อ่านเพิ่มเติม โดยความพยายามที่จะเกี่ยวข้องกับเด็กในกระบวนการอย่างแข็งขัน ส่วนใหญ่ความชัดเจนไม่เพียงแต่พูดคุยเกี่ยวกับหนังสือพวกเขากันได้อ่าน (68.9%), แต่ยัง ถามเด็กในระหว่าง และ หลังการอ่านเวลา (74.4%) ตามที่ระบุไว้ก่อนหน้านี้ กลยุทธ์เหล่านี้จะสอดคล้องกับข้อเสนอแนะของนักวิจัยในการเสริมสร้างทักษะสามารถใช้ภาษาและเด็กก่อนวัยเรียนเด็กอายุ (Hargrave & Sénéchal, 2000 ไอร่า/NAEYC, 1998 Whitehurst อาร์โนลด์ สเตียน Angell, Smith, & Fischel, 1994)การตรวจสอบของปฐมวัยปฏิบัติของนักการศึกษายังเปิดเผยว่า พวกเขามีโอกาสบ่อย ๆ เด็กจะโต้ตอบกับหนังสือและวัสดุการพิมพ์อื่น ๆ ด้วยตนเอง ซึ่งสามารถนำไปสู่ความตระหนักพิมพ์ใหญ่ (เหล่าและโอ 1986 Neuman & Roskos, 1997) กว่า 80% ของผู้ตอบรายงานว่า เสมอ หรือมักจะให้เด็กโอกาสในการโต้ตอบด้วยตนเองด้วยวัสดุพิมพ์ ในลักษณะที่เกี่ยวข้อง ส่วนใหญ่ของผู้สำรวจยังชี้ให้เห็นว่า พวกเขาทำบ่อยพยายามสอนให้เด็กมีคุณลักษณะต่าง ๆ ของหนังสือ รวมถึงข้อเท็จจริงที่พิมพ์ตัวอักษร และคำเรียก จากซ้ายไปขวา และ จากบนลงล่างในเพ (63.3%)ยังแนะนำกลยุทธ์ที่นักการศึกษาปฐมวัยนี้ปรากฏ จะมุ่งเน้นความสนใจที่ดีในศูนย์ของพวกเขา เป็นหลักการตัวอักษร (เช่น การทำความเข้าใจว่า มีความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างเสียงและตัวอักษร) (Adams, 1990) ร้อยละ 90 ของผู้ตอบระบุว่า จะสอนให้เด็ก สามารถจำแนกตัวอักษร ในขณะที่กว่า 90% (93.3%) มักจะฝึกพูดตัวอักษรกับเด็ก ๆ ส่วนใหญ่ดาว (78.9%) ของผู้ตอบทำบ่อยพยายามสอนเด็กเสียงที่เกี่ยวข้องกับตัวหนังสือด้วยเกือบสองในสามของผู้สำรวจทำบ่อยพยายามต่อสู้เด็กเขียนออกกำลังกาย ที่สามารถช่วยพัฒนาวัดต่อไป (Richgels, 2001 Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998) ส่วนใหญ่ผู้ตอบชัดเจนทำงานกับเด็กเพื่อช่วยในการระบุรูปร่าง สี ขนาด หมายเลข และต่าง ๆ ตรงกันข้าม ไม่ทราบ แต่ ปฐมวัยวิธีสรรหาไปเกี่ยวกับสอนแนวคิดเหล่านี้3 รายการสุดท้ายในการสำรวจอยู่ในกิจกรรมที่ส่งเสริมความตระหนัก phonemic จำนวนประตูที่สำคัญภายหลังการอ่านสำเร็จ (ไอร่า/NAEYC, 1998 หิมะ เบิร์น และกริ ฟฟอน 1998) นักการศึกษาได้รายงานว่า พวกเขามักจะเลือกหนังสือการอ่านออกเสียงที่เน้นเสียง คล้องจอง และ alliteration มีเด็กร้อง หรือว่า ตาไรมส์เรือนเพาะชำคุ้นเคย และสนับสนุนให้เด็กทำข้อใหม่ของเพลงหรือตาไรมส์ในขณะที่ด้านบนแล้วจะเป็นบวกมากในแง่ของประวัติผู้สอนและพยายามส่งเสริมทักษะการวัดช่วงของเด็กในการดูแลจากศูนย์ ชนกลุ่มน้อยที่ยากลำบากของนักการศึกษาในตัวอย่างนี้ระบุว่า พวกเขาไม่บ่อยเข้าร่วมเด็กในกิจกรรมตามสามารถแนะนำ กว่า 20% ของผู้ตอบรายงานว่า พวกเขาไม่อ่านออกเสียงเด็กจู่ (เช่น มักจะ หรือเสมอ), และเปอร์เซ็นต์ยิ่งล้มเหลวในการอ่านให้เด็กแพ็คเกจ ยัง รบกวนค่อนข้างเป็นจริงที่ว่า ดาวเปอร์เซ็นต์ของผู้ตอบให้บ่อย ๆ พยายามถามเด็กระหว่าง หรือหลัง จากการอ่านครั้ง ประมาณ 8% รายงานว่า พวกเขาไม่เคยถามเด็กเกี่ยวกับหนังสือระหว่าง หรือหลัง จากประสบการณ์ใช้ร่วมกัน เหมือนใช้กับกิจกรรมที่ช่วยเด็ก phonemic ตระหนักResults from the multiple regression analysis suggest that certain characteristics related to the educator and the program itself appear to have a positive influence on how often educators promote language and literacy activities in their centers. Availability of print materials at the center was one of the strongest predictors of early childhood educators' willingness or ability to engage children in important literacy activities. Studies have revealed that a minimum of five books per child are necessary to provide a basic print-rich environment (Morrow & Weinstein, 1986; Neuman & Roskos, 1997). Insufficient resources, such as a lack of high-quality children's literature, can hinder the ability of educators to provide essential literacy experiences for children. The IRA and NAEYC recommend in their position statement that early childhood classrooms, schools, and public libraries include a wide range of high-quality children's books, computer software, and other multimedia resources (IRA/NAEYC, 1998).The other two variables significantly associated with early childhood educators' efforts to promote language and literacy activities in their centers included the educator's confidence in the training he or she received in basic literacy skills instruction and the number of children cared for in a particular program. Educators who perceived that they had received adequate training in how to teach children basic literacy skills (e.g., how to read, recognize letters of the alphabet) were more likely to engage children in frequent language and literacy activities. Interestingly, simply having received some training in how to teach children how to read did not significantly predict greater efforts to promote children's literacy skills. These results seem to imply that educators must be confident in the level of training they have received before they are willing to make greater efforts to promote certain literacy-based activities. More opportunities for training are likely needed.The regression analysis revealed that educators caring for larger numbers of children were more likely to promote language and literacy activities in their centers. This finding is somewhat surprising given our typical assumptions about class sizes (i.e., the smaller the better). However, in this study, the average number of children cared for was 14.7, well below the maximum recommended group size of 20 for 4- and 5-year-olds (Howes, Phillips, & Whitebook, 1992; Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes Study Team, 1995). In the present investigation, data were not collected on adult-to-child ratios. It is very possible that early childhood educators in this study have assistance in their classrooms. If an additional adult were to be present in the classroom, the adult-to-child ratio would be approximately 1:7, which falls within recommended guidelines for adult-to-child ratios (IRA/NAEYC, 1998). There is some evidence, however, that young children can benefit from large-group activities. Dickinson and Sprague (2001) report that in their Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development (HSLLD), children as young as 3 and 4 years old benefited from participating in large-group language and literacy activities.While the outcomes from this study provide valuable insight into early childhood educators' efforts to promote children's literacy development, the data have limitations that should be noted. First, the data collected in this investigation are based solely on the early childhood educator's perspective. Self-report data are widely used across the social sciences; however, such data are susceptible to social desirability bias. In addition, it would be helpful in future studies to consider the perspective of others (e.g., parents) who can provide insight into early literacy practices with children. For example, parents could share what they do in the home environment to promote their children's language and literacy skills, or they could provide an additional perspective on their children's experiences at the centers.Second, although respectable in size, the sample used in the present investigation was not randomly selected; therefore, it may or may not be fully representative of early childhood programs across the nation. Some early childhood programs have greater access to funding sources and training support, enabling them to focus more attention on early literacy issues. In subsequent studies, it would be helpful to randomly select a group of educators from various early childhood programs to determine the extent to which early literacy skills are taught and if differences exist between program types.Third, while results clearly indicate that the majority of early childhood educators in this sample believe they are implementing various activities to promote children's literacy development, the data are limited in the sense that they do not allow conclusions to be made concerning how the activities are actually implemented. For example, what strategies are these educators using to teach children how to recognize letters of the alphabet? How do they help children learn the sounds that each letter can represent? What types of questions do they ask children before, during, or after individual or group reading times? In what ways do they help children develop early writing skills? It is entirely possible that respondents in this sample believe they are doing the things necessary to promote children's literacy development, when in fact they might not have received sufficient training to know whether or not what they are doing is based on best practices established in the research.Related to the above, respondents were asked only two questions on the survey that dealt with their training in basic literacy skills instruction (i.e., Have you received training on how to teach children to read? Do you feel you have received adequate training in how to teach children basic literacy skills?). It is important to know the answer to these two questions; however, more information could hav
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