The first five questions on the survey assessed participants' reading practices with the children in their centers. Survey results indicate that reading aloud to children in a group setting is the primary way that early childhood educators engage children in shared book reading. Over 78% of respondents reported that they often or always read aloud to children in a group setting compared with only 50% who reported that they often or always read aloud to children on an individual basis. Three-fourths (75%) of those surveyed indicated that they often or always set aside a special time each day to read to children, while the vast majority (85.6%) often or always make a special effort to read aloud a variety of different books and reread favorite books (82.8%).
Questionnaire items 6 and 7 asked participants to indicate the degree to which they talk about books that they have read together and ask children questions about the books as they read. Nearly 70% (68.9%) of those surveyed responded that they do in fact talk about books they have read together, while nearly three-fourths (74.4%) noted that they ask children questions during or after book reading. When asked how often they provide opportunities for children to look at books and other print materials on their own, a clear majority (82.2%) indicated that they provide such opportunities often or always, while just over 17% reported that they sometimes (13.3%) or seldom or never (4.4%) do so. A much smaller majority of respondents indicated that they make a concerted effort to teach children various features of a book (58.3%—often or always) and that printed letters and words run from left to right and from top to bottom (63.3%—often or always).
The next series of items (11-16) asked respondents to indicate how often they work with children to recognize the letters of the alphabet, their corresponding sounds, and how to write the letters. Over 93% of those surveyed reported that they often or always practice saying the alphabet with children in their centers; whereas only 6.7% indicated that they do so sometimes (5%) or seldom or never (1.7%). Ninety percent of respondents noted that they often or always make an effort to teach children to recognize letters of the alphabet. Only 10% reported doing otherwise (7.8%—sometimes; 2.2%—seldom or never).
The percentages drop significantly when asked how often they help children learn to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters, learn the sounds associated with each letter, and assist children in learning how to write letters of the alphabet, including the children's names. Approximately 70% (69.4%) indicated that they often or always teach children to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters, while roughly 30% (30.6%) noted that they do so sometimes (20.6%) or seldom or never (10%). Concerning the teaching of the sounds associated with letters of the alphabet, 78.9% indicated that they do so often or always, while 21.1% do so less frequently (12.2%—sometimes; 8.9%—seldom or never). A smaller percentage of early childhood educators indicated that they teach children to write letters of the alphabet (71.7%—often or always; 17.2%—sometimes; 11.1%—seldom or never) and their names (74.4%—often or always; 16.1%—sometimes; 9.4%—seldom or never).
Questionnaire items 17 through 20 asked respondents to indicate how often they assist children in identifying or learning various shapes, sizes, colors, opposites, and numbers, as well as how often they practice basic counting skills. Nearly 90% of survey respondents reported that they often or always help children identify different colors, shapes, and sizes; whereas only 11.6% reported doing so on a less frequent basis. Over 80% of early childhood educators often or always help children learn opposites (81.1%), recognize numbers (87.2%), and practice counting with the children enrolled in their centers (88.9%).
The final three items on the survey assessed educators' efforts to assist children in developing phonological awareness (i.e., the ability to identify and manipulate sounds in language). Nearly 80% (77.2%) indicated that they often or always select books to read aloud that focus on sounds, rhyming, and alliteration, while over 20% do so less frequently (16.7%—sometimes; 6.1%—seldom or never). Approximately 85% (85.6%) reported that children are often or always encouraged to say or sing familiar nursery rhymes or songs. Fewer respondents reported that they often or always encourage children to make up new verses or rhymes by changing the beginning sounds or words (63.9%).
Educator and Program Characteristics Associated with Language and Literacy Promotion in Early Childhood Centers
The second research question asked, "What are the educator or programmatic characteristics that are significantly associated with the promotion of language and literacy activities in early childhood centers?" To arrive at an answer to this question, seven independent variables were entered into a multiple regression equation, including the early childhood educator's race/ethnicity, education level, years of experience in the profession, literacy training received, and perceptions of literacy training adequacy. The two remaining variables entered into the regression equation included number of children cared for by the educator and the availability of print materials at the center. Early childhood educator efforts to promote language and literacy activities in their centers served as the dependent variable.
The racial/ethnic makeup of the sample was divided predominately into two groups, with Hispanics and Caucasians making up nearly 93% (Hispanics = 66.7%; Caucasians = 26.1%); therefore, a dummy variable was created for "race/ethnicity" in which Hispanics were coded as "1" and all other groups were coded as "0."
In a small number of cases, respondents failed to respond to all items on the survey; therefore, missing values were replaced by the mean for those particular items. Results from the multiple regression analysis, including standard error coefficients, unstandardized and standardized beta coefficients, and significance levels, can be found in Table 3. Forty-five percent (R2 = .45) of the variation in the dependent variable (early childhood educator efforts to promote language and literacy activities) was explained by the independent variables under consideration, F(7, 172) = 19.91, p < .001.