Creating contexts for talk: the influence of school-based creative arts projects on children's language

This article draws on data from two recent research studies of children's language and literacy development in the context of their work in school‐based creative arts projects. Using observations of children (ages 3 to 11) and teachers at work, the article examines the ways in which the activities in such projects open up opportunities for children to talk with each other and with adults by generating a ‘workshop’ atmosphere. Children's authentic and wide‐ranging talk in creative arts projects encompasses personal, social, imaginary and real‐world themes which, we argue, is rare in other curriculum contexts. As schools are encouraged to develop ‘creative partnerships’ with artists and arts organisations, the article highlights the role of the teacher in observing and promoting these experiences as occasions for children's language development.     

Turkish‐speaking First Graders in Norway Acquiring Second Language Vocabulary,Listening Comprehension and Literacy Skills

This study explored relationships between characteristics of classroom talk exposure and immigrant first graders' acquisition of second language oral skills (vocabulary and listening comprehension) and literacy skills. Twenty‐six children (mean age = 6.10 years) with Turkish as their first language and Norwegian as their second, attending various multilingual and ethnically diverse classrooms in Norway, were videotaped during classroom conversations. Classroom talk was coded for vocabulary richness, discursive complexity and emergent phonics talk and the children's oral language and literacy skills were assessed. Classroom vocabulary richness and discursive complexity predicted the children's second language vocabulary skills and listening comprehension after controlling for maternal education, but did not predict their literacy skills. The density of emergent phonics talk did not predict target children's code‐related skills in this sample. Applied perspectives related to second language learning in multiparty settings are discussed.     

Untangling the effects of shared book reading: Multiple factors and their associations with preschool literacy outcomes

Evidence strongly suggests that shared book reading at home and in preschool is important for young children's development of the foundational skills required for the eventual mastery of decoding and comprehension. Yet the nuances of how learning from book reading might vary across these contexts and with children's skills are not well understood. One hundred and thirty children participating in a longitudinal investigation of literacy development were videotaped reading a storybook with a parent. Children were also videotaped in their 33 preschool classrooms during the instructional book-reading portion of the day. Readings were coded for adult and child contextualized and decontextualized language relating to both decoding and meaning-making skills, and relations between this talk and emergent literacy outcomes were analyzed. Results demonstrate that parents and teachers overwhelmingly focus their book-related talk on meaning-related rather than code-related information, and that the relations between outcomes and talk depend in part on children's initial levels of vocabulary skills. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Computer use within a play-based early years curriculum

Early years curricula promote learning through play and in addition emphasise the development of computer literacy. Previous research, however, has described that teachers feel unprepared to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and play. Also, whereas research has suggested that effective computer use in the early years is associated with adult direction, further research suggests adult presence can inhibit play and reduce children's engagement. Focusing on 12 settings following the Welsh play-based Foundation Phase, this paper explores teachers' experiences of integrating computer use into classroom practice, children's levels of engagement with computer activities and how playful children perceive computer use to be. Teachers confidently delivered a variety of computing experiences. Children consistently rated these activities as play regardless of adult presence and demonstrated moderate to high levels of engagement. Findings and the features of observed practice are discussed in relation to the teachers' role as a play partner and the successful co-construction of the play-based curriculum.     

Parents supporting learning: a non-intensive intervention supporting literacy and numeracy in the home learning environment

In Australia, emphasis in early childhood education policy is placed on the importance of the role of the family as a child's first educator, and finding effective ways to raise the effectiveness of parents in supporting children's learning, development and well-being. International studies demonstrate that the home learning environment (HLE) provided by parents is closely associated with children's cognitive outcomes: literacy activities at home are likely to predict children's literacy abilities and numeracy activities at home are likely to predict children's numeracy abilities. However, studies focusing on building the capacity of primary caregivers to increase informal learning opportunities, such as enhancing children's literacy and numeracy learning in the HLE, have rarely been the focus of research. This study uses a sample of 113 four-year-old children to explore the association of specific aspects of the HLE with different child outcomes while controlling for child and family characteristics. In addition, a non-intensive, yet purposeful and systematic intervention to draw parents’ attention to the principles of dialogic reading and the principles of counting was introduced. Study findings suggest that parents responded positively to this approach, and that literacy and numeracy aspects of the HLE were specific predictors for children's numeracy and literacy competencies.     

The role of narrative in culturally responsive literacy education – a collaborative project in U.S. and Palestinian preschools

This one-year collaborative study examined the role of narrative in promoting new forms of culturally responsive literacy learning in two contrasting international preschool contexts. The qualitative project was carried out by a U.S.-based teacher educator and a Palestinian-based teacher educator who examined the benefits of culturally responsive children's literature, child-centred and open-ended questions, narrative-based dictation and art activities, and co-constructed stories between parents and children. The findings indicate that small-scale changes in the use of narrative in literacy pedagogy can strengthen the classroom as a literacy community, foster culturally valued modes of thinking that deepen children's connections to stories, and strengthen children's engagement with a culturally responsive sense of aesthetic representation. The study's implications emphasise the power of narrative to deepen young children's engagement with literacy in contrasting international settings, and the productive role of cross-cultural collaborative research to diversify current definitions of high-quality early literacy education at the global level.     

Kindergarten reading and writing curricula in the European Union

The aim of this study was to examine whether the current literacy programmes in European Union kindergarten curricula support and enhance young children's reading and writing development. This study investigated whether the kindergarten curricula of 10 European countries: Britain, Belgium, France, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Sweden set appropriate goals for young children's acquisition of literacy, provide methodological guidelines that support children's active engagement in reading and writing activities, provide a print‐rich classroom environment, emphasise the communicative nature of reading and writing and use play in the learning process. The comparative data analysis showed that European kindergarten curricula seem to support and enhance young children's reading and writing development, and that early literacy acquisition is based on the principles of the new perspective of the emergence of literacy.     

Family Science Talk in Museums: Predicting Children's Engagement From Variations in Talk and Activity

Children's developing reasoning skills are better understood within the context of their social and cultural lives. As part of a research–museum partnership, this article reports a study exploring science‐relevant conversations of 82 families, with children between 3 and 11 years, while visiting a children's museum exhibit about mammoth bones, and in a focused one‐on‐one exploration of a “mystery object.” Parents' use of a variety of types of science talk predicted children's conceptual engagement in the exhibit, but interestingly, different types of parent talk predicted children's engagement depending on the order of the two activities. The findings illustrate the importance of studying children's thinking in real‐world contexts and inform creation of effective real‐world science experiences for children and families.     

Impressions,improvisations and compositions: reframing children's text production in social network sites

Social networking can currently be described as a mainstream youth activity, with almost half of 8–17‐year‐old children, who have access to the Internet, claiming to participate. As an activity it is of particular interest to literacy educators because it is enacted through the production and consumption of text. However, a growing body of research is finding that while young people transfer knowledge and practices across the sites that they occupy, children's text production using informal digital literacy practices and children's school‐based text production can be regarded as increasingly disparate activities. This paper draws from a current research project that is exploring three pre‐teenage children's text production in social networking sites. Here one child's Bebo profile page is presented and discussed in order that the forces that play upon her text production can be identified. Through consideration of these forces, a framework for considering children's text production in informal digital environments is suggested. This framework steps away from the existing frameworks currently found within the Primary National Strategy for Literacy and Mathematics and instead requires that children's texts are viewed in relation to structure and agency.     

“We Keep the Education Goin’ at Home All the Time”: Family Literacy in Low-Income African American Families of Preschoolers

Researchers have examined the impact of family on child literacy among low-income African American families and preschoolers considered to be at risk for not being ready for kindergarten. Quantitative studies identify family-parental variables associated with poorer literacy outcomes, whereas qualitative studies detail family practices that promote child literacy development. Addressing the limitations of social address variables in quantitative research, and the paucity of research on preschoolers in qualitative research, this study examines the home-based literacy practices of 20 low-income, African American families with preschoolers in Head Start transitioning to kindergarten. Using qualitative interviews informed by a resilience framework, we found that home-based literacy activities were carried out within teams of diverse kin who worked together to promote children's school readiness. Family literacy teams expanded the literacy resources available to preschoolers, providing a rich literacy environment for children's development. These findings contribute to our substantive understanding of literacy practices within low-income African American families, resilience theory, and culturally relevant home-school collaborations.     

Effective behavior management in preschool classrooms and children's task orientation: Enhancing emergent literacy and language development

This study investigated the relations among preschool teachers’ behavior management, children's task orientation, and children's emergent literacy and language development, as well as the extent to which task orientation moderated the relation between teachers’ behavior management and children's emergent literacy and language development. Participants included 398 children and 67 preschool teachers from preschool programs serving an at-risk population. Teachers’ behavior management was observationally assessed and children's task orientation was measured via teacher-report. Children's language and emergent literacy skills were directly assessed in the fall and in the spring of the preschool year. Hierarchical linear models were used to predict children's residualized gain in emergent literacy and language (i.e., Spring scores with Fall scores as covariates) from their task orientation and their teachers’ behavior management. Task orientation and behavior management each positively predicted children's emergent literacy development, but not language development. There was a significant interaction between teachers’ behavior management and children's task orientation in predicting children's language development, such that high scores on both variables were associated with the most optimal language outcomes. Implications for research and early education are discussed.     

Dialogic classroom talk in early childhood education: The effect on language skills and social competence

The first purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of dialogic classroom talk on children's language skills (i.e. oral communicative competence and receptive vocabulary knowledge). The second purpose was to examine the effect of this type of classroom talk on children's social competence (i.e. theory of mind and social acceptance). A total of 17 teachers and 311 children (aged 4–7 years) participated in this study. Eight teachers participated in an 8-week intervention directed at dialogic classroom talk. Multilevel analyses revealed that the intervention had a significant effect on children's oral communicative competence. No significant effects were found on children's receptive vocabulary knowledge, theory of mind, and social acceptance. The results of this study indicate that dialogic classroom talk is beneficial for children's oral communicative competence. Further research is required in order to investigate how dialogic classroom talk might affect receptive vocabulary knowledge and social competence as well.     

DEVELOPING PEDAGOGICAL KNOWLEDGE THROUGH TEACHER‐WRITTEN CASE STORIES

Abstract

With more children spending the greater part of their waking hours in preschool settings today than they did years ago, teachers play an even more critical role in providing daily literacy experiences that many children of earlier generations received at home. The article focuses on the critical role that preschool teachers play in supporting children's early literacy development and presents an instructional framework to help guide early literacy teaching. The framework is based on Vygotsky's learning theory, which emphasizes the nature and importance of social interactions in instruction, particularly between adult and child. We present activity‐embedded assessments that preschool teachers can use to observe and document children's emerging literacy concepts and skills, and describe key teaching actions that scaffold learning of new concepts. In closing, we offer five principles to guide preschool teachers in planning and implementing appropriate activities to promote young children's literacy development. Sample documentation forms are included in the appendices.     

How European American and Taiwanese Mothers Talk to Their Children About Learning

Little cross‐cultural research exists on parental socialization of children's learning beliefs. The current study compared 218 conversations between European American and Taiwanese mothers and children (6–10 years) about good and poor learning. The findings support well‐documented cultural differences in learning beliefs. European Americans mentioned mental activities and positive affect more, whereas Taiwanese mentioned learning virtues and negative affect more. Mothers, especially European American, reciprocated their children's talk about mental activities, learning virtues, and negative affect. Children, especially Taiwanese, reciprocated their mother's talk about positive affect. Mothers invoked more mental activities and positive affect when discussing good learning, but more learning virtues and negative affect when discussing poor learning. These findings reveal a source of cultural differences in beliefs and potential enculturation.     

Social capital and home literacy engagement: case studies of low-SES single mothers' access to literacy resources

Drawing on the theory of social capital, this paper explores how difference in mothers' social networks might impact on low‐SES' children's literacy development at home. A cross‐case analysis of the influence of two low‐SES single‐mothers' social networks on their children's home literacy practices suggests that difference in mother's social capital has a disparate impact on their access to literacy resources, their home literacy engagement with their children, and their interaction/connection with school teachers and contributes to their children's differential school literacy achievement. The findings suggest that for low‐SES children to achieve school success, parents must be able to access resources that support their ability to engage in literacy activities that align with those valued in the school. Therefore, there is a need for schools and teachers to provide not only services that allow more networking opportunities but also support to understand school‐literacy practices and expectations for low‐SES families, especially single‐parents who might be more socially isolated.     

The Home Computer in Children's Everyday Life: the case of Greece

The purpose of this paper was to explore the degree of children's access to home computers. From this perspective research was carried out into the following: the initiative to purchase a home computer; the child's familiarisation with a computer at home; the child's computer activities. The research was based on a random sample of 993 children, of whom 305 had a home computer. The children learned about the computer through their older siblings or parents. The computer at home was used by children mainly for games but also in combination with other applications. The results of the research raise questions about the connection between the different use of the computer at home and at school.     

Effects of Home Literacy,Parents' Beliefs,and Children's Task-Focused Behavior on Emergent Literacy and Word Reading Skills

We examined the effects of home literacy (shared book reading, teaching activities, and number of books), children's task-focused behavior, and parents' beliefs and expectations about their child's reading and academic ability on kindergarten children's (N = 61) phonological sensitivity and letter knowledge and on Grade 1 word reading. The results showed that, after controlling for nonverbal IQ and vocabulary, home literacy instruction prior to kindergarten, parents' beliefs about their children's reading ability, and children's task-focused behavior were significant predictors of two or more of the dependent variables. Storybook reading did not account for unique variance in any of the dependent variables.     

Preschool teachers' beliefs about children's print literacy development

Beliefs have often been considered important because of their relation to practice. Little is known about the literacy beliefs of preschool teachers, particularly their print literacy beliefs, even though young children's experiences with print have implications for formal schooling. Therefore, this study explored the print literacy beliefs of preschool teachers in a large multicultural area of central Canada. Interviews were conducted with eight preschool teachers based on a previous study in Australia. There were five themes that emerged from this research: uncertainty and variation in beliefs about how and when children learn to read and to write; isolation from other preschools and limited access to professional literacy knowledge; the importance of parent involvement in children's literacy development and the need to inform; increased literacy knowledge required; and variation in practices for fostering print literacy development. This study has important implications for preschool teaching as well as for educators of preschool teachers.     

Validity of the children's orientation to book reading rating scale

The present study investigates the validity of a 4‐point rating scale used to measure the level of preschool children's orientation to literacy during shared book reading. Validity was explored by (a) comparing the children's level of literacy orientation as measured with the Children's Orientation to Book Reading Rating Scale (COB) with a teacher's rating of a child's level of attention and effortful control on the Children's Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ), and (b) computing the predictive validity of a child's COB rating with overall levels of emergent literacy at the end of the preschool school year. This study involved 46 preschool children from low‐income backgrounds; children's literacy orientation was rated during a group teacher‐led book reading. Children's ratings of literacy orientation during shared book reading using the global 4‐point COB scale were significantly correlated with teacher ratings of a child's attention and effortful control as measured on the CBQ. Hierarchical regression results indicated children's literacy orientation significantly predicted children's end‐of‐year alphabet knowledge and overall emergent reading skills above and beyond the variance contributed by children's language skills and family income. The validity of a global rating for indexing children's level of literacy orientation was supported. Educational implications and recommendations for the COB as a component of early literacy assessment are discussed.     

Fathers' involvement in young children's literacy development: Implications for family literacy programmes

Relatively few studies of family literacy programmes have investigated parents' experiences and whilst a number of such programmes have been specifically aimed at fathers, little is known about the involvement of fathers in programmes which target both mothers and fathers. This article reports fathers' involvement in a family literacy programme and their home literacy practices with their young children. The article provides a definition of family literacy and describes the context of the study, which was carried out in socio‐economically disadvantaged communities in a northern English city. Fathers' participation in their children's literacy was investigated through interviews at the beginning and end of the programme (n = 85) and home visit records made by teachers throughout the programme. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of these data indicate that, while fathers' participation in the family literacy programme was not easily visible, almost all fathers were involved to some extent in home literacy events with their children. During the programme, teachers shared information about literacy activities and the importance of children having opportunities to share literacy activities with their parents. Data indicate that fathers who were not mentioned by mothers as having been involved in their children's literacy were significantly more likely to be on a low income than those who were reported as being engaged with their children in home literacy activities. Fathers in the study were involved in providing literacy opportunities, showing recognition of their children's achievements, interacting with their children around literacy and being a model of a literacy user. Although involved in all four of these key roles, fathers tended to be less involved in providing literacy opportunities than mothers. While fathers and sons engaged in what might be described as traditionally ‘masculine’ literacy activities, fathers were more often reported to be involved with their children in less obviously gendered home literacy activities. The article concludes with discussion of implications for involving fathers in future family literacy programmes.