Early Literacy and Diversity

1995 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Hill
Keyword(s):  
Early Literacy ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Funds Of Knowledge ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Literacy Curriculum ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Language And Power ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Early Childhood Settings

There are many different approaches to teaching early literacy, however two major forces are at play in the 1990s. There are forces advocating National Curriculum standards, outcomes and accountability. Alternatively, a post-modern view explores the links between language and power in diverse communities. This paper argues from a post-modern position that early literacy benefits from exploring different ethnic experiences, racial and gender relationships as they enrich, extend and enliven learning to read and write. Several key principles for planning an early literacy curriculum are discussed including finding and using children's funds of knowledge’, building democratic communities in early childhood settings, honouring diversity amongst children and teachers, as well as finding strategies which effectively engage children. Finally, above all else, the notion of having fun together in reading and writing is stressed.

Addressing African American English in Early Literacy Assessment and Instruction

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Patton Terry
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
American English ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
African American English ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Early Literacy Assessment

Abstract Determining how best to address young children's African American English use in formal literacy assessment and instruction is a challenge. Evidence is not yet available to discern which theory best accounts for the relation between AAE use and literacy skills or to delineate which dialect-informed educational practices are most effective for children in preschool and the primary grades. Nonetheless, consistent observations of an educationally significant relation between AAE use and various early literacy skills suggest that dialect variation should be considered in assessment and instruction practices involving children who are learning to read and write. The speech-language pathologist can play a critical role in instituting such practices in schools.

scholarly journals Mobile Learning During School Disruptions in Sub-Saharan Africa

AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842110148
Author(s):  
René F. Kizilcec ◽  
Maximilian Chen ◽  
Kaja K. Jasińska ◽  
Michael Madaio ◽  
Amy Ogan
Keyword(s):  
Early Literacy ◽  
Mobile Learning ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Text Message ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Teacher Strikes ◽  
Sub Saharan

School closures due to teacher strikes or political unrest in low-resource contexts can adversely affect children’s educational outcomes and career opportunities. Phone-based educational technologies could help bridge these gaps in formal schooling, but it is unclear whether or how children and their families will use such systems during periods of disruption. We investigate two mobile learning technologies deployed in sub-Saharan Africa: a text-message-based application with lessons and quizzes adhering to the national curriculum in Kenya (N = 1.3 million), and a voice-based platform for supporting early literacy in Côte d’Ivoire (N = 236). We examine the usage and beliefs surrounding unexpected school closures in each context via system log data and interviews with families about their motivations and methods for learning during the disruption. We find that mobile learning is used as a supplement for formal and informal schooling during disruptions with equivalent or higher intensity, as parents feel responsible to ensure continuity in schooling.

scholarly journals Predictors of Parental Contentment with the Amount of Encouraging Digital Feedback from Teachers in Finnish Schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 253
Author(s):  
Anne-Mari Kuusimäki ◽  
Lotta Uusitalo ◽  
Kirsi Tirri
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Digital Communication ◽  
Parental Attitudes ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
School Communication ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

The Finnish National curriculum obligates teachers to give parents encouraging feedback about their children’s learning and development, the aim being to build a constructive relationship between homes and schools and to encourage close collaboration among all parties. Teachers in Finland nowadays use digital platforms that allow effective online communication. The frequency and quality of such communication vary a great deal. In particular, there seems to be a lack of clarity concerning the amount of encouraging feedback delivered in this way. The focus in this paper is on the extent to which Finnish parents (N = 1117) in both urban and rural areas are content with the amount of such feedback. We carried out a logistic regression analysis to predict parental contentment with the amount of encouraging messaging, with the pupil’s grade level, parental attitudes to digital communication, as well as parental educational level and gender as independent variables. In sum, parents who were less highly educated, with a neutral-to-positive attitude to digital communication and with a child in lower secondary school were most likely to be content with the amount of communication. These results have both research and practical implications in terms of enhancing the understanding of how best to deliver encouraging digital feedback between homes and schools. Furthermore, it seems that teacher education should focus on communicative competence early on. The current study completes our three-part series of studies on digital home–school communication in Finland.

Complicating What it Means to ‘Struggle’: One Young Child's Experience with a Mandated Literacy Initiative

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Glupczynski Spencer
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Literacy Curriculum ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
School Based ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Reading First Initiative

In this article, the author explores the implementation of the K-3 Reading First initiative and its recommendation for scientifically based reading curricula. During a time of high-stakes testing and accountability, this policy has emphasized a skills-based approach to reading and placed importance on scripted teaching models. Using data from a qualitative study in a public school in New York City, the author draws on the experiences of one young child to see how the standardization of early literacy curriculum shaped his school-based literacy practices.

scholarly journals Starting Where You Are: How Race Can Constrain Researchers within the Research Setting

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamesha Spates ◽  
Wangari Gichiru
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Graduate Training ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Research Setting ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Personal Reflections

What challenges can race and gender present for researchers of color? As Black women, we draw on personal reflections to look back at our graduate training and its influence on how we conducted ourselves in the field as graduate students and now as researchers in the academy. We particularly consider how mainstream pedagogical approaches to teaching qualitative methods might work to marginalize researchers of color throughout the qualitative research process. We lay out these complexities, not necessarily to offer solutions but rather to allow others in similar situations to think about their own journey as we collectively move qualitative research and teaching to new heights. We conclude this article with a short discussion of the direct implications for teaching and doing qualitative research.

Ethnography and the Study of Los Saberes Docentes (Teaching Knowledge) in Latin American Countries

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Mercado ◽  
Epifanio Espinosa
Keyword(s):  
Early Literacy ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Teaching Knowledge ◽  
Research On Teaching ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Interpretive Process ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
Nature Of Teaching

A specific comparative framework that incorporates an interpretive process dedicated to developing a more complex understanding of teaching knowledge incorporates the specific local contexts in which studies on teaching knowledge are conducted. Research on teaching knowledge within the region grew and diversified from the 1980s and 1990s. There are two key thematic contributions of this body of research: the nature of teaching knowledge and pedagogical approaches to teaching specific curricular content focusing on early literacy. Points of comparison between the different contributions of studies addressing teaching knowledge can be found. Additionally, institutional and social inequalities are manifested in schools and education in Latin American countries. Teaching knowledge, which teachers produce in and adapt to different social spaces (in other words, through practice), is crucial for fostering the development and learning of the students who attend school under the challenging conditions of the schools in these countries.

Teacher Understandings of and Commitment to Gender Equity in the Early Childhood Setting

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerrin Lee-Thomas ◽  
Jennifer Sumsion ◽  
Susan Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Gender Inequity ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Feminist Poststructuralist ◽  
Early Childhood Settings

Despite considerable examination of gender and gender equity within early childhood education, gender inequity remains problematic in many early childhood settings. Using qualitative methods, the study reported in this article investigated four early childhood teachers' understandings about gender and their commitment to promoting gender equity. It adopted a triangulated investigation of the teachers' understandings, attitudes and commitment to gender equity that involved talking with the teachers about their practice, observing their pedagogic practice, and inviting them to reflect on gender-based scenarios. While the participants believed gender to be a significant issue for early childhood teachers, their understandings about many aspects of gender and gender equity were heavily grounded in socialisation theory. In addition, their reliance on socialisation theory seemed to contribute to a sense of fatalism regarding their capacity for intervention. The study concludes that engaging with feminist poststructuralist theory may enhance teachers' understanding about gender and gender equity and offer a way of intervening effectively at the local level.

Developing a Phonological Awareness Curriculum: Reflections on an Implementation Science Framework

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Goldstein ◽  
Arnold Olszewski
Keyword(s):  
Early Literacy ◽  
Implementation Science ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Literacy Curriculum ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
Awareness Curriculum ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Science Framework ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
User Friendly

PurposeThis article describes the process of developing and implementing a supplemental early literacy curriculum designed for preschoolers demonstrating delays in literacy development.MethodIntervention research and implementation research have traditionally been viewed as sequential processes. This article illustrates a process of intervention development that was paralleled by a focus on implementation in early childhood settings. The exploration, preparation, implementation, sustainment framework is used to describe factors that need to be considered during a progression through these 4 phases of implementation. A post hoc analysis provides insight into a rather nonlinear progression of intervention development and highlights considerations and activities that have facilitated implementation.ConclusionsThe guiding principles of the exploration, preparation, implementation, sustainment implementation science framework highlight the important considerations in developing effective and practical interventions. Considering implementation and sustainment during the intervention development process and using data-based decision making has the potential to expand the availability of user-friendly evidence-based practices in communication sciences and disorders and encourage a bridging of the researcher–clinician gap.

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