Paternal Support of Emergent Literacy Development: Latino Fathers and Their Children

International research has demonstrated that a considerable amount of children’s literacy development occurs prior to formal schooling and that emergent literacy skills at school entry are strong predictors of later literacy and general academic achievement. These findings have prompted vigorous early intervention programmes aimed at promoting emergent literacy development to optimise the development of conventional literacy. While there is considerable research conducted in developed countries, there is limited research on the emergent literacy skills of children in South African contexts. In the light of increasing evidence of poor literacy performance of South African children in the foundation phase of schooling it is imperative that appropriate and timely intervention be undertaken. However it is important that intervention be informed by baseline assessments of the children’s literacy competencies in the full spectrum of socio-cultural contexts in this diverse country. This study documents the emergent literacy competencies of 101 grade R (the year prior to grade 1, equivalent to kindergarten in the United States) learners attending schools in historically disadvantaged coloured communities on the Cape Flats in the Western Cape. An Emergent Literacy and Language Assessment protocol was developed for use with this population. The children’s performance on the assessment tool indicated that in general they possessed a reasonable repertoire of emergent literacy skills. Although they displayed adequate skills to support acquisition of print decoding skills necessary for fluent reading, weaknesses in the decontextualised language skills that have been found to support later reading comprehension, were evident.

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An investigation of the perspectives of low-income Latina mothers with preschoolers transitioning to kindergarten

Journal of Early Childhood Literacy ◽

10.1177/1468798420901822 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 146879842090182 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sarai Coba-Rodriguez ◽

Robin L Jarrett

Keyword(s):

Emergent Literacy ◽

Low Income ◽

Literacy Development ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Family Members ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Latina Mothers ◽

Quantitative Studies ◽

Demographic Risk ◽

Demographic Risk Factors

Research in the United States (U.S.) documents that young Latino children whose families are characterized by demographic risk factors disproportionately lack the early literacy skills needed to successfully transition to kindergarten. Quantitative studies using comparative samples have found lower quality home learning environments and lower scores on a child outcome assessments among Latino children compared to their Black and White peers. A small body of qualitative, non-comparative studies that focus on Latino families in their own right provides descriptive accounts of the positive ways that Latina mothers and other family members promote child literacy development, despite being characterized by demographic risk factors. However, the social address variables utilized in quantitative studies limit our understanding of the family processes affecting child literacy development, and most qualitative studies focus on older, school-aged children with very few studies focusing on the early transitional period before kindergarten, especially for Latinos. Addressing current gaps in the literature on preschool-aged children, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews and photo-elicitation interviews with 17 low-income Latina mothers of Head Start preschoolers in a northern Chicago suburb in the U.S. Privileging mothers’ voices and experiences, we explored their in-home emergent literacy practices and the role of other family members in promoting children’s literacy development. Informed by a family resilience framework, we accessed intimate family worlds that reveal highly engaged and resilient parents. Specifically, we identified numerous child literacy skills that families supported through an array of family instructional practices and tools. We further identified the role of various available family members, particularly fathers and siblings. These findings add to substantive discussions of emergent literacy, resilience and familismo. Insights from the qualitative interviews lead to recommendations for how early childhood educators can capitalize on families’ funds of knowledge, and view them as valued collaborators.

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Teacher Preparedness to Utilize Emergent Literacy for Teaching Initial Literacy in Selected Schools of Mansa District

Journal of Law and Social Sciences ◽

10.53974/unza.jlss.2.1.393 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Samuel Imange ◽

John Simwinga

Keyword(s):

Primary School ◽

Emergent Literacy ◽

Literacy Development ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Writing Skills ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Natural Setting ◽

Emergent Literacy Skills ◽

Literacy Knowledge ◽

Initial Literacy

Effective teaching of initial literacy in Grade 1 demands more of the teacher’s attention to pupils’ emergent literacy skills and consideration of how they learn. The emergent literacy skills children acquire lay a firm foundation for their learning to read and write in the conventional sense. Some of the skills that children develop under emergent literacy include phonological awareness and phonological sensitivity, which give children the ability to hear, recognize, manipulate and distinguish the sounds of the language they have acquired. These are key language skills which teachers will need to utilize in their teaching of reading and writing skills to Grade 1 learners in the classroom. A study was carried out whose purpose was to investigate whether primary school teachers in Mansa District utilized emergent literacy skills in their teaching of conventional reading and writing skills to the learners in Grade 1 considering the fact that emergent literacy lays a firm and solid foundation for continuous development of the literacy skills. The study was a descriptive survey and qualitative in nature since it required the researcher to describe the state of affairs as found and observed in their natural setting in the research sites. The qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were used. The sample for this study comprised 62 Grade 1 teachers and 3,594 Grade 1 primary school pupils. Only those schools teaching initial literacy in the local familiar language using the Breakthrough to Literacy (BTL) methodology were targeted for this research. The findings indicated that: (1) Teachers lacked knowledge about emergent literacy and did not know how useful it was for continuous literacy development among the children. (2) Most of the teachers ignored pupils’ prior literacy knowledge and considered their learners as complete illiterates who knew nothing about literacy skills. (3) Teachers never designed extra teaching and learning materials for teaching literacy. Rather, they relied on the New Breakthrough to Literacy (NBTL) kit materials. (4) The class sizes were large and meaningful scaffolding was lacking in most of the classes. This study concluded that the Ministry of Education in Zambia should consider emergent literacy as the foundation for conventional literacy development in Grade 1. One recommendation was that teachers should be equipped with knowledge of emergent literacy through deliberate training. They need to understand and appreciate emergent literacy as an essential body of knowledge to be utilized for successful conventional literacy development among Grade 1 learners.

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Bilingualism, Deafness, and Literacy

10.4018/978-1-7998-8181-0.ch008 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 184-203

Author(s):

Douglas C. Williams Jr.

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Emergent Literacy ◽

Language Proficiency ◽

Literacy Development ◽

Reading Development ◽

Fourth Grade ◽

Reading Level ◽

Future Research ◽

Deaf Students ◽

Grade Reading Level

Deaf students commonly leave high school with no higher than a fourth-grade reading level. This commonality may prompt certain assumptions regarding deaf children's strengths and weaknesses, particularly relating to reading development as well as broader academic and professional endeavors. The following review examines reading development among deaf, native sign language users as a bilingual process. Specifically, four common assumptions surrounding deaf learners' potential for ASL-English bilingual development are addressed including those relating to phonological accessibility, English-based signed system efficacy, ASL-English transference of language proficiency, and strategies for emergent literacy development in young, deaf learners. Finally, suggestions for future research endeavors are posed by the author.

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Family Support of the Emergent Literacy of Children with Visual Impairments

Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness ◽

10.1177/0145482x9609000308 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 90 (3) ◽

pp. 194-200 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

C.J. Craig

Keyword(s):

Family Support ◽

Emergent Literacy ◽

Parental Support ◽

Literacy Development ◽

Visually Impaired ◽

Primary Literacy ◽

Children's Literacy ◽

Impaired Children ◽

Visually Impaired Children ◽

Children With Visual Impairments

This study of the frequency and nature of parental support for the emergent literacy of 264 visually impaired children found differences in support based on the primary literacy medium and presence of additional disabilities. These differences were in the areas of literacy opportunities at home and parents’ expectations of and priorities for their children's literacy development.

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