‘Like, I’m playing, but with this’. Materialization and affect in early childhood literacy

The more-than-human turn in early childhood education has highlighted the relevance of children’s intra-actions with their environment, as well as the multiple ways in which worlds and literacies emerge in them. The rejection of representationalism as the single source of knowledge leads to the consideration of affect, embodiment, memories, sound and movement as ways of knowing. The ways in which they manifest in a school context deserve close attention to the tiny details of literacy events. Our research presents a diffractive reading of an event in a school classroom, aiming to understand human and more-than-human intra-actions in this context, the re-configurations of time, space and matter, and the ways in which children articulate entanglements with texts and bodies. We focus on the intra-actions of a seven-year old child with a photo of his favourite videogame and the ways in which affect and memory emerge. The child’s sounds and movements, the researcher, the photo and the space become entangled to re-configure time, space and matter. Our analysis provides an insight into an event often occurring in schools. We offer some clues to understand it as part of the language and literacy practices of children, and pose the necessity of reconsidering the usual concept of literacy in school.

Teachers' Strategies in Introducing Literacy to Early Childhood: Lesson from Indonesia

Purpose – This study aims to analyze teachers' strategies in introducing literacy to early childhood.Design/methods/approach –The researchers used the case study method. The research subjects are two teachers who teach in early childhood education institutions in Bandung, Indonesia.Findings –The results of this study indicate that in introducing literacy to children, teachers use multiple strategies, such as optimizing role-play activities, stimulation through active teacher conversations that encourage children to communicate (rich teacher talk), utilizing the use of big book media, and focusing on phonological awareness. The study results show that the teacher's role is significant in optimizing literacy learning for children.Research implications/limitations – This case study focuses on literacy learning in early childhood based on the experiences of two teachers in Bandung, Indonesia.Practical implications –This case study shows that multiple strategies are appropriate to introduce early childhood literacy and prepare children for the next level of education.Originality/value – This study contributes to the understanding of literacy in early childhood. In addition, this study recommends that teachers apply multiple strategies in introducing literacy through play activities. Paper type Case study

Pendidikan dan Ekonomi Orang Tua terhadap Kemampuan Literasi Anak Usia Dini di Masa Pandemi

Children's literacy skills are related to language skills in writing and reading. During pandemic times parents are required to meet facilities and guide children at home. The education and economics of parents play a role in this situation. The purpose of this study is to find out the educational and economic influence of parents on children's literacy skills. This research used quantitative research. This research used a questionnaire instrument, observation, and interviews in data collection. The results of this study indicate: (1) the influence of parental education on the literacy ability of early childhood, (2) the influence of the economy of parents on the literacy ability of early childhood, and (3) the influence of parents' education and economy on early childhood literacy skills.

How they got to Sesame Street: Children’s Television Workshop’s appropriation of advertising tactics for effective childhood literacy education

One of the staple components of Sesame Street over the last 50 years is the short, animated segments that periodically interrupt the narratives and focus on brief educational and literacy concepts. Histories of the show have recognized these segments and referred to them as commercials, but to date, literature lacks a comprehensive examination of the managerial forces involved in planning and producing these commercial segments to identify the depth of understanding Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) possessed as they created this material. Even more intriguing, contemporary literature has identified conceptual overlaps between the components of successfully persuasive children’s advertisements and successful strategies for teaching early childhood literacy. This study uses a historical analysis and primary evidence, from corporate and executives’ personal archives, to identify and chronicle how CTW married literacy education and advertising to effectively “sell” literacy to child viewers of Sesame Street. This study also identifies important implications and opportunities for research and the future promotion and presentation of educational concepts in contemporary digital media settings.

Making Literacy Culturally Relevant

In this reflective chapter on culturally relevant teacher preparation, the authors begin by discussing early childhood literacy and how it has traditionally been conceptualized. They offer an overview of a balanced literacy model, including its history, structured development, and critiques. They then consider culturally relevant pedagogy as foundation to reconceptualizing early literacy and teacher preparation. To bring such reconceptualization to life, they share their work with early childhood pre-service teachers, aiming to reconceptualize early literacy. They conclude the chapter with suggestions for moving beyond balanced literacy in culturally relevant ways.

“Confidence” problems and literacy coaching: How a suburban kindergarten divided “good” and “bad” teachers in the accountability shove-down

This paper explores the context of a Kindergarten team in a suburban P-3 school in Wisconsin developing literacy coaching support. Facing recent neoliberal accountability reforms that have greatly expanded teacher competition, dismantled teachers' unions, and added the role of the coach to the school, "confidence" is an issue that the coach and teachers struggle with as they seek to improve minority student achievement. Using a case study design and feminist sociological framework highlighting emotional labour, the affective economy, and the psychosocial possibilities of the work of Pierre Bourdieu , this research examines professional capital as a form of educators' experience. Ultimately, we see that the landscape of power and emotions is complex as it divides "good" and "bad" White and middle-class teachers. Possibilities for extending the uses of feminist sociological theory in early childhood literacy are discussed.